Spirit of the Triage Sidestories
by emily4498
Summary: Ditto. If you haven't noticed, Kichiro is a very unreliable narrator and doesn't always explain himself. In no particular order, here are important scenes from Spirit of the Triage in the POV of other characters. Some are reliable, some are not.
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1 of_ Spirit of the Triage _from the perspective of Hatake Sakumo_

 _Author's note: If you haven't, I suggest you read_ Spirit of the Triage _first, but this chapter can be read on its own. Enjoy!_

* * *

It was supposed to be an easy mission, a diplomatic mission. We were to attend the seventy-fifth anniversary of Uzushiogakure's founding. I was leading The Sandaime's students, Uzumaki Mito, four Chuunin, and two Jōnin. It was supposed to be an easy mission: enjoy the festival. The Uzumaki weren't big on formalities, it was just the Sandaime's courtesy, which probably would go unnoticed by the clan, considering every single living clan member was supposed to be present. Uzu had made it clear to the world that politics and business had no place at the celebration and malcontents would be ejected with prejudice. It was a C-rank mission that I volunteered for after a string of A-ranks.

We didn't even run into any traps, bandits, or enemy shinobi on the way. It was supposed to be an easy mission and it was, until the hawk landed in the middle of our campsite, just as we were ready to lie down and sleep. The only person who didn't curse at its appearance was Uzumaki Mito. She was smiling. I didn't blame her, she hadn't been out of the village in over a year and she hadn't taken a real mission since before the Shodai died, festival be damned.

She gently detached the message scroll and handed it to me. I didn't even try to hide my expression as I read the coded message.

 _[H793]Sarutobi H.— 007309[Message: Uzu has been attacked. Orders: Proceed directly to Uzu. Urgent. Danger. Command reinforcements. Situation: Details unknown. Danger.]_

When I looked up, I was met with the worried and slightly scared expressions of the entire team.

"Uzu has been attacked," I stated hoarsely. I had friends living there, so did everyone present. Mito's entire family lived there.

"Please repeat that," someone demanded.

"Uzu has been attacked. Our orders are to get there as fast as possible and reinforce the shinobi there."

"Sakumo-kun, that's not funny," Mito reprimanded me. "Uzu's entire military is there, there's no way anyone would be stupid enough to attack such a fortified village."

Instead of trying to defend myself, I hand the page to her so she could decode it herself. "Everyone pack up."

No one said a word as they followed orders. In less than two minutes, we were ready to leave.

I ran point, at top speed. About two hours before midnight, we reached the ocean. I barely managed to stop the team before we left the treeline. I had to catch one of the Chuunin before he stumbled onto the beach. In the water, there was a boat riding low and approaching. The darkness made it extremely difficult to tell how big it was, but there were at least two people in it. One was holding onto the back of the boat and scanning their surroundings while another was moving around, periodically crouching out of sight. There was no way to know how many people were in it.

I grabbed the shoulder of one of the other Chuunin, a sensor, and pointed at the boat. "How close are they and how many people are in that boat?"

She paused for a moment and the entire team looked at her until she answered. "I can't tell how far they are, but there's nine chakra signatures I don't recognize."

"Why can't you tell the distance?"

"I have nothing to compare the signatures to. They could be nine animals who are about a hundred meters out or they could be nine adults about a kilometer out. Since there's no reliable point of reference near them, I just can't tell."

"Then we spread out and wait. Everyone in the trees and smother your chakra. We'll ambush them as soon as they're close enough, but don't take any risks."

I waited until everyone was in the trees before sliding across the beach, low to the ground, and out onto the water in the shadow of the dock. We waited in silence for almost ten minutes until I could make out details by the light of the crescent moon.

The first thing I noticed was that the second person hadn't stood up in a while. The next thing I noticed was that the person standing was using chakra to propel the boat at a pathetically low speed, meaning it was an Uzumaki boat. Finally, I realized that the person standing was a child. By then they were close enough for me to sense. It was a small boat, almost three meters long and a meter and a half wide. Four children were huddled together along each side of the boat, the tops of their heads barely visible over the boat's edges. All of them had red hair.

"Those are children!" I exclaim without warning. My teammates jerk backwards and the child standing up flinches so violently he fell out of the boat, or would have if I hadn't already darted to them and picked him up. He was thin, half-clothed, his lips cracked and oozing blood, missing his front four teeth, and shivering with cold. He tried to push away from me, but it was weak. I had no idea how the kid was still conscious. "Get them out of the boat and onto shore. Everyone get blankets out of their packs, wrap the kids up, and give them something to drink. We don't have any idea how long they've been on the water."

The rest of the children didn't even whimper as my teammates picked them up and carried them onto the beach. Mito hung back, not approaching the children while everyone else carried one of the children to shore and coaxed them to drink.

"Some of them are injured," the sensor told me and pulled a little girl's arm out of the blanket. It was splinted with a kunai and a hair ribbon. The other injuries had been wrapped with what looked like strips from their shirts.

I nodded and turned back to the boy in my arms, tipping a bit of water into his mouth. His eyes were closed and I couldn't tell if he was conscious. He had a nasty gash on his head. From what I could tell, being the oldest, he must have been the one to bandage up the other kids. He did a good job, better than I'd ever seen a kid bandage anything. If he was older and not so thin, I would have guessed he was apprenticed to a nurse or doctor, if not training to be a shinobi.

"Let's get them into that shack," I announced.

Mito stayed out of the kid's sight. By the time they were lined up on the wall, all the kids were conscious and somewhat alert, watching the adults warily. The older kids murmured to the younger ones that it was okay and we were Konoha shinobi. The boy I had carried was the oldest. One of the girls, who was other next-tallest of the group, clung to him. I guessed they were siblings. There was a set of twins in the group as well. All of them were inexplicably thin.

Mito motioned me out of the shack. I stepped out to hear what she had to say. "They're orphans, all of them. The oldest two are Kichiro and Kushina. I met them a few times when they were toddlers." She paused as Tsunade walked up before continuing. "The girl was slated to become a kunoichi when she turns ten. The rest of the children are civilians."

"Only the oldest girl and boy have open chakra networks. The boy's is recently opened, he unlocked his chakra only a few hours ago. The girl has chakra exhaustion, so I can't get any more from her without a more thorough examination."

"In short, the kids pose no threat."

Both women nodded. I turned back to the shack and walked inside as calmly as possible. When they all looked up at me, I spoke, softly so I didn't startle any of them. "Here's the deal, kids. I know you're from Uzu and my team and I are headed there now to help your families, but we need as much information as you can remember. Can you tell me anything?"

All the kids glanced at the oldest boy and his sister. Several pointed as well. To my surprise, the girl spoke instead. "My brother Kichiro can tell you better than anyone what happened. He's really smart and strong! He saved us!"

The poor kid looked terrified at being put on the spot, but didn't try and shrink away as the attention turned to him. At least he looked more alert than before, even though he was still shivering and there was a line of blood making its way down his chin from his cracked lips.

"Come on out here, kid, you don't have to talk in front of everyone."

He didn't look like he heard me but didn't resist as I pulled him out and tightened the blanket around him. His eyes widened and he pulled the blanket even tighter as if he hadn't noticed it before. I should have pulled the girl out instead, she would probably be more reliable.

"Tell me everything, kid." I crouched down so he wouldn't feel intimidated.

I tensed as the boy straightened and looked me in the eye. "Except for one or two who might have slipped through the cracks, the entire population is dead," he stated bluntly. His voice was soft, quiet, but had more confidence than kids twice his age, and hinted at a lisp that would have been adorable if it wasn't for what he said. His words were like a punch in the stomach; I barely managed to keep my expression neutral. "Um, they used a mist Jutsu to confuse everyone and obscure vision, simultaneously reducing the effectiveness of traps. The village never stood a chance. We escaped because we were at an orphanage near the strait. None of us have any family left to lose. We were all orphaned before the attack." That was a better report than most Genin gave. The kid was smarter than he looked, much smarter. He knew about traps around the village, could identify the use of a jutsu and the purpose behind it, and conveyed enough information about his companions to put our minds at rest. I expected him to continue, but instead, the boy's eyes glazed and he started to hyperventilate.

"Hey! Stay with me, Kichiro, I still need you to tell me how you got out." I said, harsher than I intended, immediately feeling bad when his eyes started to fill with tears and he took a step back to try to hide it. How old was this kid?

When he spoke, his voice was unexpectedly steady, but his body was starting to sway from standing up. "We were on the playground when the mist appeared. I grabbed who I could and ran to the boats. We all jumped in but someone tried to chase us. Kushina, um, killed them with some jutsu and eventually we made it here. The shinobi had a Kiri forehead protector."

I steadied him and glanced around for a place he could sit, but there wasn't anywhere that wouldn't leave me towering over him. "What did Kushina's jutsu look like?"

"I-it made a giant, um, whirlpool around us that dashed him against the dock."

"You've done well, Kichiro, don't let anything lead you to think any differently." I reassured him. Before I could guide him back to the other, he jerked away from me with more force than I thought he was capable of producing.

My eyes widened as he stamped his foot petulantly. "I didn't want to do anything!" Wait, what? Where did that come from? He started to mutter to himself and for a moment I just watched him in morbid fascination as he started pulling at his hair. "If I hadn't grabbed them, they'd be dead, _dead_! I saved their lives, now they're my responsibility. Kami, what kind of shithole did I get myself into?" That was an old perspective to have, especially for a kid so young. It had fallen out of use before my grandfather was born.

When he took a breath, I put my hands on his shoulders, partially to hold him up, partially to get him out of his own head. "Kichiro, listen to me. Just because you saved those kids' lives, you're not responsible for them. How old are you? Six? Seven? You're not expected in any way to take care of yourself, much less anyone else, alright?"

He finally looked at me, as if I was an idiot.

I blinked, but finished anyways. "You shouldn't feel that way, kid, alright?"

I'd never seen someone look at me so incredulously and I let go of him, unnerved. The next thing I knew, the kid had channeled chakra into his arm and punched me across the face, nearly dislocating my jaw. The kid's eyes suddenly widened in terror. He stumbled backwards, defensively raising both arms. I realized I'd drawn my tantō. I forced myself to put it away and restrained myself from smacking the kid in retaliation.

It didn't take me long to figure out why he hit me. I was, inadvertently, telling a civilian kid to turn off his emotions and he was smart enough to pick up on it, though I didn't understand why it offended him so much. I took a moment to rub my jaw and reevaluate my opinion of him. He flexed the hand he hit me with once before curling it back into a fist. I was almost convinced he was going to try and fight me. The kid had spirit and more social wherewithal than most shinobi I'd met. If I wasn't mistaken, the kid was seeing right through me, and held himself as if he knew something I didn't.

I frowned. There was no way a kid that size could have produced the amount of force he hit me with, not without breaking or dislocating his entire hand. In fact, I was fairly certain he didn't feel any pain from hitting me. The kid was good. He used chakra to strengthen his muscles and reinforce his bones, and it had only been hours since he first used chakra. He was unbelievably smart. Considering Mito only mentioned him because of his relationship to Kushina, he must have been smart enough to not be marked as a genius before now. I pushed a little bit of killing intent at him but he didn't even flinch. I had no doubt the boy was fully responsible for getting the other kids off Uzu alive.

When his attention wandered away from me, which took five times longer than I expected, I spoke. "You're right, kid. You're not a shinobi yet so I can't ask you to turn off your thoughts and feelings at will. I'll tell you this, though. You're a good person and a leader whether you want to be or not. You're the kind of person I want watching my back because I know you'll do your job whether you want to or not. Who knows, one day you might just be on my team."

To my surprise, he understood the offer and gaped at me.

"Now, kid, you may still have all that adrenaline pumping through your body, but that gash on your head looks pretty nasty and I think our dear medic has finished up with your friends."

"They're not my friends. I don't even know their names. Except for Kushina."

I did my best to ignore that statement as I took the hand he punched me with and led him back to the shack. Sure enough, he didn't show any sign of pain, his hand was perfectly fine. I held back a chuckle as he prodded at the gash on his head, inspecting the injury with a comically childish expression.

The boy shied away from Tsunade and I didn't blame him, she wasn't very gentle, considering she was checking him for weapons as well. Eventually, Tsunade emerged. I leaned against the outside wall of the shack, the team standing around me.

"The boy confirmed that Kiri shinobi were attacking the village and he claims that it's already been ransacked. We can leave someone here to guard the kids and go on, or we can rush back to the village and get a larger force to back us up when searching for survivors," I informed them.

"If it is Kiri, we're in no shape to fight. Only Tsunade has a proper Earth affinity," Jiraiya noted.

"We're just abandoning them?" Tsunade demanded.

"She has a point." Orochimaru cut in. "Those kids may be Uzumaki, their resilience and longevity will be beneficial, but it seems that except for the girl, Kushina, they know almost nothing of their clan heritage, considering they're orphans. Only her and the boy, Kichiro, appear to have any talent for the shinobi arts. Tsunade looked at their chakra networks and none of the others have any notable potential. Despite their general health, the Uzumaki are a mostly-civilian clan to begin with. We have Mito-sama's knowledge, so not all will be lost."

"Both options have equal drawbacks and advantages," I took charge. "You all need to vote, there's nine of you if I remain impartial. Who thinks we should head back with the kids and bring back a stronger force?" There was a long pause. "Five to four, sorry Tsunade, we're heading back. Set up a perimeter around the shack. Tsunade, if the kids need anything, it'll be up to you, the rest of us will take hour-long shifts in pairs, I'll take the two sunrise shifts. We leave as soon as the kids wake up and have eaten."

"No!" Tsunade protested. "We leave now and carry them. They can sleep as we run."

"They only just got off that boat, are you sure?"

"They're just tired and hungry, we can stop to eat in the morning, but the sooner we get back to Konoha, the sooner we can get help to Uzu!"

"Can everyone handle that?"

A chorus of affirmation answered me.

"Right. Tsunade, they're most familiar with you, why don't you bring them out and we'll wrap them in our blankets to keep them from freezing in the wind."

I watched carefully as she carried the kids out, youngest to oldest, waking them so they knew the person carrying them, then instructed everyone how to run with the kids without hurting them or letting them freeze. Kichiro stumbled out when Tsunade carried out his sister. I stepped forward and guided him towards Orochimaru, who sneered. I bit back a chuckle as Kichiro sneered back.

"Orochimaru, you're last," I said distractedly as I tried to figure out the safest formation.

"I'm not carrying some snot-nosed kid for hours. Carry him yourself, I'll run scout."

I rolled my eyes and gestured for him to take charge while I crouched in front of Kichiro. He wasn't going to sleep willingly and that was not a battle I wanted to fight. "Come on, kid, hop on my back."

Kichiro crossed his arms stubbornly. "I'll walk."

More than one of my teammates turned towards him sharply, holding back disbelieving snorts.

I studied him for a moment, unwilling to just knock him out. When I realized that this was going to be an argument, I motioned for them to move out without me. They did and I turned back to the boy. "We're not going to be walking kid—"

"Then I'll run—"

What the hell is he thinking? He can barely stand up! "If you were a Genin, I would consider it, but you won't be able to keep up with us. We don't have the time to teach you to tree hop, and you don't have the stamina to make it back to Konoha. You need to rest more than anything and I'm not above forcing you to sleep, got it? You can ride on my back and tolerate it, or you can wake up when we reach the village gates."

"Why can't I stay here?"

"You'll freeze kid, even with that blanket, or you'll be either captured or killed." He glanced back towards Uzu. The kid didn't want to leave home. I turned and sat against the wall of the shack, balancing on my toes so I could move. "You and I both know that this isn't about being carried. What's the real problem?"

The kid studied me, gauging my reaction. "If I told you, you'd think I was insane."

That was not what I expected. Now, I was genuinely curious as to why he didn't want to leave. "Try me."

After a moment, the boy crossed his arms, his gaze even more piercing than before, testing me. "On one condition."

"What condition?" I asked warily.

"That you don't betray my trust by telling anyone else, no matter the circumstances, or think I'm crazy or evil."

My eyes widened. That was one hell of a demand and he knew it. "As a shinobi, I can't make that promise, kid. I'm required to disclose everything to my Hokage, pertinent or not."

"Then leave me here and catch up with your team. I'll be fine, I promise." The brat was lying to my face. Best case scenario, he ended up living in that boat or the shack and dying of exposure in a week. Worst-case scenario, he tries to make it back to Uzu and dies on the way there or is killed by whoever is left on the island.

"I am extremely capable of forcing you to come," I warned him, testing his resolve.

"But you won't, because you're not that kind of person, Hatake Sakumo." The kid had the gall to _smirk_ at me.

I let a kunai fall out of my sleeve and into my hand, keeping the blade carefully out of his sight. None of the other shinobi had said my name. I had a sudden feeling that this kid was a lot more dangerous than he seemed. "How do you know my name?"

Instead of answering, he sat down beside me and curled into a ball, refusing to look at me, even briefly turning his back on me. He wasn't going to say a word unless I promised not to say anything.

I sighed, forcing my body to relax. I hated lying to kids. "I will not lie to the Hokage if I'm asked directly, but I will keep you secret and hear what you have to say with an open mind."

"Swear on everything and everyone you care about." Suddenly I felt a lot less guilty for lying to him. He might know a lot more than he was letting on, but he was demanding a lot of trust. Maybe he wasn't as intelligent as I first thought.

I fed him the lie. "I swear."

"If nothing changes, in the wake of the, um, Third Great Shinobi World War, someone who hasn't been born yet is going to release the Kyuubi on Konoha and devastate the village. Do I have your attention?"

I barely managed to keep my expression neutral. Something was going on with this kid and it was big, for him at least. I played along. "That is an entirely plausible scenario, but you have absolutely no way to prove it."

"What if I could?" My façade started to crack, but it didn't matter, his face was turned away from me.

"Then I fear the two wars that are looming in the future much more than the attack of a Bijū. I know there is much more to this story. Let's start with the obvious question. Why are you telling me, of all people?"

"Why are you listening?"

Fair point. I really wanted to knock him out and drag him back to Konoha to make him someone else's problem. "Because I have an obligation to my village."

"I may not know a lot about you, but I respect you more than you know. The impact you make on others, both good and bad, will carry further than you can imagine." Flattery? What the hell is this kid's game?

"You seem to have an inflated image of me, kid. I'm not as influential as you seem to think. There's no way for an orphan from Uzu to know who I am."

"It will make more sense in a bit. I died this morning. There was a kid, probably eleven or twelve getting bullied by a teenager. I broke it up and once the kid was gone, I turned around and the teenager killed me. I was twenty-seven. I died, but it wasn't in this world. When I woke up, I was spinning on the swings in Uzu watching a bunch of orphans. I can't prove it; I just know it's true." I shifted so I crouched directly in front of him. The kid actually believed what he was saying. He wasn't under a Genjutsu, Tsunade had already checked, and there was no reason for Kiri to alter the kid's memories like that.

"Say I decide to write you off as hallucinating. What would you do?"

"Just walk away. I would hide in a small, forgotten village and let events play out. It all turns out fine in the end." He just kept getting weirder.

"And if I believe you?"

"I'll tell you everything and fight like hell to keep them alive and stop the Fourth Shinobi World War, which is infinitely worse than any war you can imagine." Who was 'them'? I decided not to press just yet.

"Then tell me everything."

"Well, before I died, there was a story that I haven't read for years…"

Without any emotion, he told me that the Second Shinobi World War would start in a few years, and at some point after, a man known as the White Fang would be sent on a mission where he'd be required to choose between the mission and his teammates. He would choose his teammates, and the village would scorn him for his choice, driving him to commit suicide and orphan his son. The son would be the student of the future Yondaime and would lose one of his teammates to a madman on a mission to destroy the Kannabi bridge, which would help end the Third Shinobi World War. Sometime after, the son's other teammate would be killed and drive his lost teammate insane, who would go on to release one of the Bijū on Konoha, and the Yondaime would die sealing away the Bijū. Twelve years later, a missing nin would attack Konoha during the Chuunin Exams, killing the Sandaime. Three years after that, another man known as Pein would annihilate Konoha and almost everyone who lived there to capture the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, but the Yondaime's son would stop him. The madman's arrangement to be brought back from the dead would coincide with uniting all the Bijū to create a monster. The Yondaime's son would save the world.

It sounded like a story, if it wasn't for the fact that the kid believed it would happen. The details were sparse, which would make sense if the kid actually knew the future and understood the danger of messing with it. "You haven't told me much."

"I don't remember much and things have already changed, there's no way it can stay the same now." That was cryptic.

I hated manipulating kids, but I had to get him back to Konoha. If he was telling the truth, he had a lot of dangerous information that could fall into the wrong hands. If it was just a story, I had the feeling that he had made up enough details to make it seem real enough that someone might get ideas. "Well, I guess we're now going to fight like hell to keep people alive, aren't we?"

"You're not going to tell your Hokage." I knew I should, but I wasn't and he knew it. If the kid was right, no one should have the information he does, especially not a Kage.

"He's your Hokage now too. You'll be a shinobi like me, right?" I almost breathed a sigh of relief when it successfully distracted him.

"I've been enlisted in the military, but I spent four years in communication. I'm not cut out to fight directly." His head drooped onto his knees. I had no idea when the last time the kid slept.

"You can do it, I'm sure of it, Kichiro. For now, I think you've been working too hard. You need to rest." I put a hand on his head and he didn't even twitch as I carefully knocked him unconscious. If possible, the kid seemed even lighter as I picked him up, secured him against my chest, carefully wrapped him with the blanket, and ran to catch up with my teammates. I decided not to do anything about the kid's story except keep an eye on him. The future was not to be messed with.

The smell of salt and blood that clung to the kid made it difficult to track the others, but I caught up an hour later.

"What was the kid's deal?" Tsunade asked as I matched their pace.

"He's a little ass who's too smart and stubborn for his own good." If only I knew how true that statement would turn out to be.

(o_o)

When the sun rose and the kids started to stir, we stopped long enough for the kids to swallow some water, relieve themselves, and receive a ration bar laced with Tsunade's sweet-tasting, mild sleeping drug to eat.

Ten minutes later, they were all asleep.

I crouched beside Kichiro, trying to figure out as much as I could about him in the sunlight. I could feel the salt in his hair, but when I touched the hair of one of the youngest kids, it wasn't as bad, meaning he spent time swimming in the ocean. That would explain how he didn't panic in the boat. He could swim and probably very well. Even after a full day in direct sunlight, the kid's skin hadn't burned, so he spent a lot of time outside, even though he was still paler than most of the Konoha kids. He didn't look like it, but there was a surprising amount of muscle under his skin, most likely from swimming. He didn't have any shoes, none of the children did, and his trousers were filled with places where they had been worn through. In fact, the boy and his sister's clothes were significantly more worn out and ill-fitting than the other children's. Uzu wasn't so poor that it couldn't properly clothe and feed its orphans, in fact, even though the other children were thin, Kichiro was the thinnest of all, as if he had missed more meals than a kid his age should.

"Tsunade, did any of the kids show signs of abuse?"

"No, and not any negligence either, though only one of the younger boys had ever seen a medic nin. For orphans, it's not unusual. I was wondering the same because they're so small—"

"The kids on Uzu are just smaller than Konoha kids," Mito interrupted. "It's partially their diet, but you can't tell an underfed kid from a regularly fed one because their chakra makes up for food. When they're teenagers, their weight and height tend to double. Kichiro was always a sickly kid, which is why his sister is almost the same size as him, even though they're more than a year apart."

"Why are Kichiro and Kushina's clothes more worn out?" I asked.

"The two of them are troublemakers. They sneak out at night and managed to regularly sneak through my seals, which I made specifically to keep them inside when they're supposed to be." She sounded quite bitter and irritated about that. "They've been banned from half the administration buildings on Uzu for causing general mayhem of all kinds. I'm not sure if it was intentional or not and no one could prove anything about the incidents. Both are somewhat clumsy when they're out of the water, but competent enough when they need to be."

"I guess Konoha will be in for a ride with these two."

"Most certainly."

We were ten minutes away from Konoha when the kids started to wake up. After feeding them each another ration without any drugs, we let them walk. Sure enough, Kichiro stumbled every few minutes, nearly taking his sister down with him, but after the first face-plant, I took his wrist and refused to let go.

At the gates, the two Chuunin had obviously heard what happened and looked rather green when we ushered the children through. I picked up Kichiro, much to his displeasure, and hurried to the Hokage's office. He watched us carefully as we set the kids down in front of his desk. Mito revealed herself to the children for the first time by standing behind the Hokage's desk. I knew Kichiro wasn't scared of me or any of the other shinobi in our group, though he didn't seem to like Tsunade. When standing in front of the Hokage and Mito, the boy looked like he just wanted to bolt. He even looked around for a potential escape route. The other kids didn't take long to pick up on his fear and huddle close together, hiding behind Kichiro and his sister. The second-oldest boy made the shield slightly bigger.

The Hokage stood up, slowly walked out from behind his desk and crouched in front of them. Kichiro took an inadvertent step back and the orphans' ranks tightened. The Hokage was well-known for playing with children their age. I'd never even heard of a kid scared of him. He was just as unsettled by the odd response.

"Hello, children, I'm—"

"I know who you are," Kichiro interrupted. "You're the Sandaime."

I had a bad feeling about this.

"What do you want from us? I already told Sakumo everything I know about the attack." Kichiro looked ready to fight the Hokage, forcing him to rapidly reevaluate his plan.

"I don't want anything from you kids," he assured them. "I just want all of you to feel welcome to Konoha and know that you are safe here. Arrangements will be made for all of you to attend school as long as you keep your grades up. Once you prove you are capable of taking care of yourselves, you will be free to do as you wish inside the walls of Konoha, provided you follow the laws here."

Kichiro nodded and the other children followed suit. Two Chuunin stepped forward and ushered out the children to take them to the hospital to cover what Tsunade couldn't treat in the field.

The Hokage stood up and turned to me, frowning. "The boy, what is his name?"

"Kichiro, Hokage-sama."

"And the girl beside him?"

"Kushina. They are siblings."

"All of the children?"

"Aside from the two you asked about and a set of twins, they are all unrelated. All were orphaned before the attack." I quickly reported on everything except what Kichiro told me about the future.

The Hokage frowned. "I want the boy and his sister enrolled in the Academy by the end of the week and living in their own apartment. Put the other children in the orphanage's school. Mito, are you sure you don't want to take in any of the children?"

"It wouldn't be fair to the others if I did. I would take in the boy and his sister for reasons I already told you, but the boy is terrified of me. Once they settle in, I'll try and visit."

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama," I noted, "I don't think the boy will take kindly to the classroom."

"Why not?"

"Call it a hunch."

"We'll wait and see how he reacts and adjust accordingly. Hatake, arrange for them to have an apartment near the Academy and notify the senseis there of their new students. After that, take them to their new home. Tsunade, the orphanage on your way home has enough space for all the others. Tell the matron there to prepare for seven funded arrivals. Everyone is dismissed."

An hour later, I finished and went to the hospital. Kichiro sat on the floor of the waiting room, looking extremely uncomfortable as his sister played with his hair. Both children were clean and wearing relatively new clothes. Kichiro noticed me the moment I walked in, but didn't react until I headed towards them. He stood up, to which Kushina protested until she saw me

I answered the girl's questions about where we were going, if she could be a ninja, where the food was and if she could explore, about the other children, among other things.

Kichiro didn't say a word until we arrived. "This is where the two of you will live. You'll each get a small stipend, enough to cover food and necessities." I grimaced at the apartment. There were three rooms, a bathroom, bedroom, and living area with a pathetic kitchen in the corner. It was furnished with two small mattresses propped against the wall, a table, and two wooden crates. I pulled out two large envelopes and handed one to each. "Those have a key for each of you, your stipend for the month, some instructions on providing for yourselves, and the citizenship papers that you need to fill out. Can you read?"

"Yes!" Kushina responded cheerfully, clutching her envelope.

"You'll be starting school in a week. Someone will pick you up here on your first day. The marketplace is two blocks north. If you get lost, look for someone with the Uchiha clan symbol surrounded by a shuriken and four dots on their backs. They're the police and will help you if you need it. Any questions?"

Kushina shook her head and scampered inside.

I grabbed Kichiro's shoulder before he could follow. "Keep your sister safe, kiddo, and you can start that fight you swore to."

I didn't stick around for his response, but silently promised to check up on him as much as possible.

* * *

 _Author's note: Updates on this will be sporadic, but_ Spirit of the Triage _will still be updated every week._

 _My fellow Americans, enjoy the solar eclipse today, but don't blind yourself!_


	2. Chapter 9a

_Author's note: I recommend that you read Spirit of the Triage first. This section corresponds_ with _chapter 9._

 _Context: During Kichiro's first mission, Shimura Danzō was the commander of the Suna front before he was injured and forced to return to Konoha. After he recovered, he went to command Kiri. Here is the correspondence between him and the Hokage pertaining Kichiro while he was in Suna._

* * *

[C237]Shimura D.—Sarutobi H.[Message: Damn you, Saru! I need a squad of medics, not an Academy student! The civilians can handle their own injuries. My men are dying out here. It's only a matter of time before we're overrun if you continue to refuse me the resources I need.]

[H177]Sarutobi H.—Shimura D.[Response: C237. There are no more combat medics available. Give Uzumaki a chance. He's stubborn enough to succeed.]

[C241]Shimura D.—Sarutobi H.[Report: Uzumaki was severely injured upon arrival. He fell out of a tree. Recommended action: immediate recall.]

[C242]Shimura D.—Sarutobi H.[Report: Uzumaki was caught healing an enemy ninja the day after his arrival. Recommended action: immediate recall and court martial.]

[H180]Sarutobi H.—Shimura D.[Response: C242. Orders: let the boy heal whomever he wishes, but prioritize Konoha ninja and allies. Do not detain enemy ninja he heals on the battlefield.]

[C273]Shimura D.—Sarutobi H.[Report: Uzumaki has proved himself extremely competent, but he has now earned a moniker among the Suna ninja. His team leader has foiled six assassination attempts in the past week. Recommended action: immediate recall.]

[C312]Shimura D.—Sarutobi H.[Report: Four squads of Suna ninja armed with puppets assaulted our weakest point, base A37, in an attempt to capture Uzumaki. The assaulting squads were captured with no deaths. Uzumaki's moniker has spread throughout my men and is causing distraction. Uzumaki appeared on the battlefield with a bright green haori. When the battle was over and he was interrogated on his choice of clothing, the boy laughed in the faces of several superior officers. He has been here two weeks and I find my patience sorely tested. Assessment: Uzumaki's presence is a liability and he is unfit for duty. Recommended action: immediate recall.]

[H180]Sarutobi H.—Shimura D.[Response: C312. Message: Please stop asking me to recall Uzumaki. The boy is just a little eccentric and still a child. His team leader will control him when it is necessary and practical. Uzumaki is solely responsible for your subordinates' increased morale and the suspiciously small number of poisonings your subordinates have received. Orders: thank the boy before he leaves.]

[C315]Shimura D.—Sarutobi H.[Response: H180. Orders received and acknowledged. Will comply.]


	3. Happy Birthday, Naruto!

_Author's note: Happy Birthday, Naruto!_

 _In honor of Naruto's birthday here are a few scenes from his perspective. There are no spoilers, foreshadowing, or anythng except what you see at face value: it's just Kichiro and Naruto interacting. This takes place shortly after Naruto's fifth birthday. Kichiro is 30 years old._

* * *

"Ji-chan!" I bellowed as I burst out of the school doors. He glanced over his shoulder at me and waved before turning back to his conversation with one of the villagers. I pelted towards him from behind, determined to catch him off-guard at least once. When I was two steps away, he turned with impossible fluidity, picked me up, swung me in a circled and settled me on his hip. I pouted about not surprising him while he said goodbye to the old lady he was talking to.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" He asked, tickling my belly.

I couldn't help but giggle.

"That's better. I have a surprise for you!"

"Really? What is it? What is it?" I bounced on his hip. "Is it ramen? Ramen! Ramen!"

"No, it's not ramen, silly. I have an extra day off, so we can stay out camping for an extra day!"

I started to cheer, but Ji-chan clamped a hand over my mouth.

"Not so loud, little hero. You're hurting my ears."

I fell silent immediately. "I'm sorry, Ji-chan."

"It's okay, let's go drop your schoolbag off at home then we'll head out."

"Can we run, Ji-chan?"

He chuckled and set me down, catching my schoolbag as I flung it at him. I bolted away, determined to beat him home. He jogged after me, keeping up without a problem. I was just passing the neighbor's koi pond when something tugged on my bracelet. I howled in fury as it twisted me off-balance and I fell headlong into the water.

As the water closed over my head, I heard Ji-chan's laughter as he stopped on the edge. "Are you alright, little hero? That was one hell of a tumble!" My back hit the rocky bottom of the pond. I kicked off the bottom and leapt out of the water at Ji-chan, knocking him back. It couldn't have turned out better if I had planned it. Ji-chan jerked backwards and when he steadied himself on the ground, his hand sunk into some animal's pile of warm, wet poop. Ji-chan cursed and yanked his hand away at the same time I barreled into him, knocking him backwards into a puddle of mud.

"Naruto!" He screeched as mud covered his hair and the back of his shirt. The next thing I knew, a blob of warm, wet poop hit my chest. The road was muddier than I remembered it before I fell into the water, but I didn't stop to think as I flung a handful of mud back at Ji-chan, laughing loudly. He dodged it and tackled me. We both went rolling.

"Boys!" The old neighbor next door scolded before either of us managed to get the upper hand.

Ji-chan was on his feet in an instant and apologizing for disturbing her.

"Were the two of you raised by dogs?" She demanded.

"Technically, I sorta was," Ji-chan snickered. I blinked and the old woman was in front of him, whapping him over the head with a shoe.

"You ought to be the example, incorrigible brat!"

"I'm a very good example! The kid's still alive, isn't he? Ow!"

She smacked him twice more before marching back into the house. I snickered as he rubbed his head. "You started it!" I told him.

He picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder, snatched up my schoolbag from where it had escaped the mess, and marched into the house. Without dripping or leaving mud anywhere, Ji-chan deposited me in the bathtub. "Clean up while I pack, okay?"

In no time at all, I had pulled off my clothes and rinsed all the mud down the drain. I ran to my room to get clean clothes, only to find Ji-chan, completely clean and dry, already packing my clothes for the weekend. He helped me dress in my favorite shorts and left me to struggle into my shirt.

The best part of camping with Ji-chan was everything. Except for clothes, a few blankets, and a knife, we didn't bring anything. We didn't bring food or dishes or mats or matches or anything. Ji-chan showed me how to forage, catch, and cook food. He showed me how to build shelters, make dishes, and fashion all sorts of useful things.

"I wanna catch the food this time, Ji-chan!" I declared as we started walking out the door a few minutes later.

"It's up to you, little hero, I guess when we get to the campsite, I'll make the fire then, right?"

"Can we camp beside that big lake and eat fish all weekend?"

"Lead the way!"

(o_o)

When Ji-chan started to lay out the blankets for us to sleep on, I decided to ask a question that had been niggling at the back of my head for a while.

"Ji-chan? Where did you learn all this stuff?"

For a moment, I thought he hadn't heard me, then he stood up and came to sit down next to me.

"Your ka-chan and I didn't live in the Land of Fire when we were little."

"Where did you live?"

"Patience, Naruto, I'll tell you."

I scampered into his lap, ready for his story.

"When we were little, we were about your age actually—"

"Were you the same age as Ka-chan?"

"No, a year older. When we were little like you are now, we used to live on an island, do you know what an island is?"

I nodded.

"It was a really big island with lots and lots of people. The best part was that they were all family. We had a very, very big family. I didn't even know everyone's names."

"Why don't we have a big, big family now?"

"That's a story for another time, let me answer your first question. Where was I? Okay, when we lived on that island, your ka-chan who's also my sister, used to play every single day by the ocean. Do you know what the ocean is?"

I shook my head.

"Imagine this lake right here." He pointed to the lake in front of us. "Imagine the sun shining really, really bright so you think you can see forever, okay?"

I smiled and nodded.

"You know how you can see really far when you're up in a tree, right?" I nodded again. "Imagine you're up in a really, really tall tree and looking at the lake, can you picture that?"

I nodded again.

"Good. Now imagine if our little lake right here went on as far as you could see on your right, on your left, and in front of you, from the very tippy-top of the tree."

"Woah! That's a really big lake!"

"That's what the ocean is like. It's really big, but you can't drink the water because it's really, really salty, like when you put way too much salt in your rice."

"Ewww!"

"When your ka-chan and I were growing up, we lived on an island and the ocean went on really far in every direction."

I gazed up at him in awe. "How did you leave the island?"

He ignored my question. "Every day, your ka-chan and I would play in the ocean and make things. We figured out how to do most of this ourselves. That's how I know all these cool things."

"There's more to the story," I said seriously.

"I know. I'll tell you the rest when you're older."

"I am older! I turned five years old yesterday!"

"It's time for bed, little hero. No more stories tonight."

I curled deeper into his lap and pulled the blanket around myself.

"You're just like your mother," Ji-chan sighed.


	4. Chapter 9b

_Context: The Tsuchikage learns about Kichiro's existence. Takes place during chapter 9 of SOTT._

* * *

 _Ōnoki_

"Ah, Yuuto-san! More good news, I hope. This war is going quite well. The old monkey is certainly feeling Iwa's strength. It's only a matter of time before he surrenders." I commented cheerfully as my most trusted spy took a knee in front of my desk.

"I'm afraid a complication has arisen, Tsuchikage-sama," Yuuto informed me and looked up solemnly. I'd never seen him so haggard and unkempt.

I straightened and gestured for him to continue.

"Two new names have appeared on the Konoha lines."

"Who?" It's been a long time since any new names have emerged from Konoha.

"The White Fang and the Spirit of the Triage."

"Is the Spirit of the Triage Dan Katō?"

"No. Dan Katō is a confirmed presence in Kumo. The Spirit of the Triage is an entirely new face and name. Most of the reports on him are vague and the only thing I know for certain is that he exists."

"I fail to see how this is relevant then."

"Would you allow me to report on the White Fang first?"

I nodded.

"He is definitely someone we need watch carefully. His name is Hatake Sakumo, Jōnin of Konoha."

"A Hatake‽ I thought that clan was extinct!"

"There was suspicion that they allied with Konoha and their deaths could never be confirmed. May I continue?" He didn't wait for permission. "He has white hair and is in his late twenties or early thirties. Since he is so much older than most names are when they first appear, heavy combat is not his first role. His primary weapon is a sabre, which is suspected to be a clan heirloom. Judging from his role on the front lines, he is neither a clan head nor the last of his line. That's all I know for certain, but wherever he appears, the Spirit of the Triage isn't far behind."

"Interesting. Are they teammates?"

"I do not believe so."

"Why not?"

"The Spirit has been confirmed to have healed ninja from Konoha, Suna, Ame, and Iwa."

"Healed? She's a medic?"

"That fact is still unconfirmed, but the Spirit is most certainly male. I encountered him once, from a distance. Before I could approach, a squad of Konoha shinobi appeared and catcalled him. He turned his back on my position and responded, I quote 'I am male, you assholes, now go help your comrades before I tattle on you' unquote."

"He's connected to a high-ranking Konoha ninja. Could you tell his age?"

"Young. He could be as young as six or as old as fifteen, but he's definitely prepubescent."

"Describe him."

"He wore a bright green haori with black flames along the hem. On his back was the kanji for medic. He had a black bandanna tied over his hair that might have been a hitai-ate, but I never saw his face. When he was turned in my direction, he had his head down and was healing an Iwa ninja. Underneath the haori, he was not wearing a Konoha uniform. If I didn't know better, I would say it was the Genin uniform from Uzu. I'm fairly certain he has red hair, but it might have been blood that I saw behind his ear."

"Uzushiogakure was destroyed and the death of every shinobi and their students was confirmed."

"Konoha extracted several children from the ruins. One of them might have had shinobi potential."

"Our spies have confirmed that the children were all under the age of seven when they were recovered, two siblings had talent as ninja, but neither were exceptionally intelligent. At least not to the degree where they would be able to be such a proficient healer." I leaned back in my chair, contemplating the information. If Konoha had a trained Uzumaki at their disposal, the war could take a very bad turn. Especially if the Uzumaki discovered Iwa had—no, I couldn't imagine the fallout of that. I couldn't put off the rebuilding of the interrogation corps any longer.

"Then the Spirit could be a rogue."

"In their entire clan history, the Uzumaki have never had a traitor or a rogue." Myself, my fellow kage, and the unfortunate spy who unearthed the Uzumaki's most despicable secret were most likely the only individuals outside the clan to know exactly what lengths the Uzumaki went to ensure loyalty. The Uzumaki's hands were much cleaner than any other clans, but they had a dark side that not even I wanted to bring to light.

"I find it more likely that he is an Uzumaki shinobi who managed to survive the massacre than anything else. The Uzumaki never made enemies of any of the ninja villages and their alliance with Konoha wasn't for military purposes."

That wasn't possible. The speculation wasn't going to yield any results. "You said he was healing an Iwa ninja, correct? Who was it?"

"I never caught his name, but he was a Genin. It was during the battle not far from Kannabi two days ago. He was healing anyone he came across. The Genin had a bone protruding from his thigh and someone had stabbed his neck. He should have died, but without any supplies or bandages, the Spirit healed him. He left behind scars, but otherwise fully healed the wounds. That's another reason I think he's an Uzumaki. If the reports are to be believed, in that battle alone, the boy healed at least fifty people who otherwise would not have returned to the battle. Uzumaki are the only people with that much chakra—even then, adult Uzumaki can barely manage the Spirit's feat. Even if he was in his mid-teens, he would need an extraordinary amount of chakra to do that. He's a chakra monster, but somehow remained a medic—and has the control necessary to be successful. The most disturbing part is that the boy can suppress his chakra to the point where he barely registers as a person, much less the freak that he is."

"How many of our ninja did he heal?"

"Two that I know of."

"Ranks?"

"Genin."

"Interesting. Do you know how many Konoha nin he healed?"

"Konoha suffered two deaths from that battle. Iwa had twenty-nine. The Spirit was the only medic on-scene since Iwa's attack initially targeted and killed the medics at the Konoha base."

"The Iwa ninja outnumbered Konoha four-to-one! How did we take so many losses in comparison?"

"The Spirit of the Triage is rumored to be able to bring back the dead."

"That's not possible."

"I've confirmed three reports that Konoha ninja, who have been crushed by earth jutsu—one from the neck down—have reappeared on the battlefield. All of Konoha's renowned medics have attempted to heal those injuries, none have been successful."

"When was the last time Konoha produced a child with comparable skills?"

"There are rumors that Konoha's ANBU Bird is still a child, but for obvious reasons, there's no way to determine the truth in that. The Sandaime Hokage's students and Dan Katō are the only ones who have gained reputations before they turned fifteen. There have been several Uchiha with promise, but none have gained a reputation beyond their clan name."

"I see. Do you have any information on the Spirit's abilities?"

"He is a spectacular medic and I'm inclined to believe the rumors he can raise the dead are not as exaggerated as we want to believe. I didn't see him use any seals, but they are difficult to detect even when one knows they are being used. He carries two sticks and I didn't see a single blade on his person. Considering the boy has survived several of Suna's assassination attempts, he is either very well-protected or most likely has a respectable sensory and combat ability. He's not battle-hardened and tried to make small talk with the Iwa Genin, who thankfully didn't respond."

Interesting, but there was absolutely nothing to do except wait and see what the boy would do. "Have you written your report?"

"Yes, Tsuchikage-sama."

"Is there any information you omitted from the report that was too sensitive to put on paper?"

"No, sir, but would you allow me to give my opinion on what should be done?"

"Go ahead."

"Put a standing capture order out on the boy. He's a medic and a potential Uzumaki. Even without fūinjutsu knowledge, he is young enough to be manipulated and potential Jinchuuriki material—if he's not already a Jinchuuriki."

"I'll keep it under consideration. In two days, head back out. Gather as much information as you can on the White Fang and the Spirit of the Triage. Stay for two weeks. If another player shows up, stay another week. This will be a B-rank mission and I expect you back in less than a month. Leave your report. Dismissed."

He stood up and left without a word.


	5. Chapter 5a

_Author's note: One little short from the two years after Kushina and Kichiro arrived in Konoha. There will be a short series of these._

* * *

 _74 days since the Uzushiogakure Massacre_

 _Uzumaki Kushina_

"Good morning, Kushina-chan," someone greeted me pleasantly as I stepped out of our apartment. My hand tightened on the doorknob and I stopped locking it.

I looked to my left and saw a woman standing on the steps below me. The pattern on her pure white kimono resembled the Jōnin uniforms of Uzushiogakure. Her vibrant red hair was tied tightly in buns on either side of her head and two seals hung from them. The seals maintained a weak genjutsu around her, hiding the chakra of the Bijū inside.

"Good morning, Mito-sama," I responded neutrally, quickly finishing locking the door.

"I was hoping to speak with you and your brother, is he here?"

"No."

"Where is he?"

"He went to the market," I lied.

She frowned slightly. "I'm not going to hurt you or your brother, I just want to talk."

"I know who you are, Mito-sama. I know what you carry inside of you. I also know that you're old and those seals in your hair are hiding the weakness of your Jinchuuriki seal."

Her eyes narrowed. "Even on Uzu, that knowledge is not commonplace."

"That doesn't change the fact that I _know_."

"I swear to you, Kushina-chan, I just want to talk to the two of you."

"No. I don't care what you want and I have no interest in what you have to say. Kichiro and I want nothing to do with you or the Kyuubi."

"I am not the Kyuubi."

"I know and I never said you were. Tell me, how long have you been stalking me and my brother? Since I was two?" Her face stayed impassive. "One? Before I was born?"

She clenched her jaw.

I wasn't afraid of her anymore, I was angry. I marched forward until my toes hung over the top step of the stairs. "I suppose you asked our parents what they thought about one of us becoming Jinchuuriki, haven't you? What did they say?"

She looked away.

"They told you no, didn't they? Now leave me and my brother alone!" I turned to march away, but her next statement stopped me.

"Would you sentence a child to the fate of a Jinchuuriki when you could do something about it?"

"You have children, don't you? They have enough Uzumaki blood to bear your burden, yet you tried to force the burden onto the children of someone else. You're not even a part of the Uzumaki clan anymore! You have no authority to ask something like that from us." I jumped up on the metal bannister, refusing to look at her. "If it was up to me, I would already have gone back to Uzu. Kichiro and I can survive on our own—it won't be much different than what we did before. I'm only here because Kichiro says we need to stay because he thinks it's safer. He likes it here for some reason, but if you approach either of us again, I'll tell him exactly how long you've been planning to make one of us into a jinchuuriki." I jumped down into the street.

"Don't walk away from me, young lady," she stated from directly behind me. I kept walking until she grabbed my arm, sending a thrill of fear through me. "What do you want?" She demanded.

"I want to go home!" I hissed back at her.

"Our home is gone."

"I'm going to rebuild it."

"Everyone thinks your brother is the difficult and dangerous one and you're the cooperative and naïve sibling, but it's actually the other way around, isn't it?"

I yanked my arm out of her grip. "Kichiro loves this village. I don't know how and I don't know why. I may be naïve, I might cooperate with this village for Kichiro's sake, but I have no true allegiance to it."

"Have a nice day, Kushina-chan," Mito stated abruptly and left. I put the confrontation out of my mind and headed to the Academy at a brisk walk.


	6. Chapter 5b

_133 days since the Uzushiogakure massacre_

 _Uzumaki Kushina_

"You should consider changing your hair, Tomato-head!" someone taunted behind me as I walked back to my apartment after school. "It makes the perfect bull's eye!"

Something wet and squishy hit the back of my head. I felt the redness of humiliation rise in my face as the skin of a rotting tomato slid down my back, spreading it's smell and squishy guts across the long strands.

They knew better than to say anything when Minato was around, but he was sick and I spent the entire day struggling to ignore the nasty taunts. "We don't want you here, foreigner. You're poisoning our friends!"

Another rotten fruit struck my back. I turned around, just in time to see a rock about to hit my head. I tried to dodge, but I was too slow and it glanced off the side of my forehead. I ignored the pain and dizziness and lunged forward, catching the four boys and three girls off-guard. I immediately regretted taking on so many at once. I punched the boy who threw the rock in the nose and sent him reeling into one of the girls, knocking her down. Both of them landed in the mud. One of the girls—I recognized her as the top kunoichi in the class—grabbed my hair, but I whipped around and yanked her towards me. She let go of my hair to roll out of the way of my punch. Before I could do anything more, the two boys still standing grabbed my arms. I couldn't fight both of them, I was too small to knock them off balance.

The fourth boy stepped in front of me. I kicked at him and my foot landed in his groin. A moment later, the top kunoichi punched my stomach. I doubled over, unable to breathe. Her knee came up and struck my face. Luckily, my nose didn't break, but I felt several of my teeth loosen.

I didn't dare close my eyes to the pain. Instead, I jerked to the side to dodge her punch, knocking one of the boys holding me off-balance. I didn't have the leverage to kick him and he still had a tight grip on my arm, so I bent and bit deeply into the fleshy part of his forearm. He screamed and let go, but I held tight as the other boy released me as well. The third girl struck my back with a sturdy wooden stick. I released the boy I had bit with a pained scream, landing heavily in the dryer part of the road. She hit me again, but as it struck my ribs, I grabbed it. She tried to pull it away, but I used it to pull myself up for a moment, at least until the top kunoichi swept my feet out from under me.

The boy who let me go stepped forward and kicked my stomach and the girl with the stick tried to hit my head. I curled into a ball and covered my head as the other kids joined in to start kicking me. Before they got more than a handful of strikes in, a loud voice rang out.

"Cut that out!" It demanded angrily. The stick fell in front of me and they scattered. A moment later, someone pulled me to my feet.

"Kushina?" Kichiro's voice rang out while someone pulled me to my feet. Dimly, I recognized the police uniform.

"Hold up, who are you?" The policeman blocked his approach.

"I'm her brother. Let me see her!"

Reluctantly, the policeman took a step back and Kichiro pulled me into a hug. "Are you kids going to be alright getting to the hospital yourselves?"

"We'll be fine," Kichiro stated offhandedly, as he started looking at where the rock hit me.

"No more starting fights, young lady, or next time, you'll be in trouble."

"I didn't start it, they threw stuff at me first," I protested.

Kichiro pulled me away before the policeman could say anything more. Luckily, we were barely a block away from our apartment. I obediently sat down on one of our kitchen chairs as Kichiro gathered stuff to treat my injuries.

"I didn't start it. They threw stuff at me first," I repeated stubbornly.

"I believe you," Kichiro responded as he started to clean the gash on my forehead.

"Is it bad?"

He snorted. "Well, I've seen worse, but I'm surprised you're still conscious."

"I'm dizzy."

"Nice to meet you dizzy, I'm Kichiro," he said, turning towards something on the table.

I snorted. "What are you doing?"

"You need stitches."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You've never had stitches before, right?"

"You have, lots of times."

"I'm glad the painkiller is working," Kichiro chuckled.

"Painkiller? When did that happen?"

"Look on your hand."

I lifted my hand and stared at it, turning it around and wondering if I misheard.

"Other hand."

"Oh." There was a numbing seal on the back of my hand. Kichiro was sneaky, I didn't even notice him activate it.

"Hold still." I shuddered at the strange sensation of Kichiro stitching the gash on my forehead. "Did you bite someone?" He asked suddenly.

"Yeah, why?"

"You still have blood in your teeth—I think there's some skin and hair too. It's freaky."

I grinned up at him and he rolled his eyes.

"There, stitches are done."

"Aren't you a medic? Can't you use your magic fingers and fix it up as good as new?"

"Yes, I can, but I just finished my shift and I'm exhausted, so it'll be more dangerous for me to try. I'll finish healing once I recover a little bit."

"Just bruises, that's all."

"Really now? Then why is there blood all over your back?"

"I don't know."

"Let me see to make sure." He walked behind me and tried to roll up my shirt, but the seal wasn't strong enough to stop it from hurting as he pulled the fabric away from where the stick had been laid across my back.

I bit back a whimper as Kichiro wormed the shirt over my head and started to clean the wound.

"It's not bad enough to need stitches, but it'll be a pain to bandage. Come on, let's get you cleaned up."

By the time we made it to the bathroom, a tub of water had already been drawn. I stripped and settled into it. Mindful of the stitches, Kichiro gently washed my hair and my back.

"I'm sorry, Nii-san."

"There's nothing to be sorry about. You didn't start the fight."

"I know, but still." I closed my eyes as he rinsed the soap away, then pinned my hair up out of the water.

"Finish washing up, I'll look at the bruises afterwards."

"Wait, Nii-san?"

He paused at the door.

"Why are you home so early?"

"Sensei had to leave suddenly so training this afternoon was cancelled. I had just got here when I heard the commotion and got curious."

"Are you going to go after the people who attacked me?"

"No, there's no need. You'll show them tomorrow, you have the taijutsu tournament, don't you?"

"Yeah, thank you."

"I'll be in the kitchen, holler if you need something."

"Okay."


	7. Chapter 5c

_204 days since the Uzushiogakure Massacre_

 _Uzumaki Kushina_

Kichiro just laid there sprawled on his back and breathing hard. I knew he was sick right away. I was always supposed to go get the caretakers from the orphanage whenever I woke up and he was like that. This time, there was no one to get. I was sick too, but not as sick as Kichiro. I could still move around. I crawled over to Kichiro and shook his shoulder. He would be able to tell me what to do. No matter how hard I shook him, he just lay there. I looked over at the door. My new defensive seal glowed faintly on it. I felt nauseous at the thought of trying to deactivate it. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, Minato was banging on the door and Kichiro was shivering. Minato tried to force his way in but the door wouldn't budge. I looked over at the window, but I had sealed it to prevent anyone from coming in that way and Kichiro had pinned a sheet over it so no one could look inside and so the sun wasn't so bright in the mornings.

I had never felt so trapped and scared. Everything ached and moving was almost impossible.

I managed to pull a blanket over Kichiro. His skin was hot—too hot, but I laid down beside him anyways, shaking his shoulder futilely until I fell back asleep. Minato was still fighting the door. Hopefully the seal would run out of chakra soon. When I next woke, Kichiro was trying to say my name, his eyes barely cracked open. The only light in the room was someone swinging a lamp across the window.

I tried to sit up, but my head spun and I collapsed, instead focusing on the voice outside the window. "Kushina-chan? If you don't answer, I'm going to break the seal on this window. One of you tripped an emergency seal. Kichiro-kun? Are the two of you okay?"

"Help," Kichiro breathed, but there was no way for the woman to hear.

The next thing I knew, a woman wearing white nightclothes, her hair framed by loose red hair leaned over me. "No! Don't come in!" She ordered. "It's seal sickness. Close the window and don't let anyone in."

"You could get sick!" I recognized the Hokage's voice.

"I won't, you can only catch seal sickness once and I had it a long time ago. It's deadly to anyone who didn't have the counterseal as a child."

"Their skin is black! Are they even alive?"

"Of course they're alive! Whether they'll survive is the question. They're younger than any case I've seen. Close the window, we can't risk this spreading. Do not, under any circumstances, let anyone in, understand? This is fatal and more contagious than any other known disease."

"Understood, Mito-san, but I expect a full report as soon as possible."

"I'll deal with it later, now leave!" I whimpered as she touched my forehead with scalding hot fingers, then Kichiro's, who moaned and pulled away. "It's okay, you just have to let this run its course. You've been in this bed all day. Let's get you cleaned up and comfortable."

She vanished for a moment and I heard water start running. I was too weak to resist as she pulled off my clothes then carried me into the bathroom. In short order, I was clean and redressed in fresh clothes, then gently laid in my own bed and wrapped in blankets. I watched her carry Kichiro out of the room. The next thing I knew, she was laying him down beside me. He immediately rolled away from her and curled against me, shivering. I grabbed a fistful of his hair and fell back asleep. When I woke up, there was sunshine in the window and she was cradling Kichiro, coaxing him to drink from a bowl. Thick, black lines were tangled across all his visible skin.

"You have to keep your strength up. I don't know the last time you ate."

His hands were pinned in one of hers and he kept turning his face away from the bowl. It smelled horrible.

She exchanged it for a glass of cool water, which he drank greedily. I realized I was thirsty as well. She laid him back on the bed and stood up. I whimpered and started to climb over Kichiro. A moment later, she returned with more water and pulled me into her lap. I managed to guide the glass to my mouth with weak hands and drank the water quickly. As soon as I finished, she exchanged the glass with the bowl. It was just miso soup, but I still tried to push it away, feeling nauseous.

"Between the two of you, you will at least finish the broth, even if I have to force feed it to you. You're not going to throw it up, I promise."

I looked over at Kichiro, who didn't even react to her declaration. He looked bad. His eyes were glazed, he was barely breathing, and he lay there as if dead.

"Kichiro—" I breathed, reaching for him. Mito let me go with a sigh. I dragged myself to him and pressed my forehead against his.

After a few minutes, Mito picked him up. She had diluted the broth and poured it into the glass with a straw. He slowly sipped it, steadily consuming the entire bowl of broth. He even ate pieces of the vegetables and tofu. It still smelled horrible. When the bowl was gone, she laid Kichiro on the bed, sighing when I curled against him and he hugged me back. I woke up to Kichiro shivering, but his skin was still hot, much hotter than mine. By the time Mito wrapped another blanket around us, I was asleep.

(o_o)

 _205 days since the Uzushiogakure massacre_

When I next woke, Kichiro was awake and sitting up beside me. Mito picked me up a moment later to hold a straw to my lips. I drank a few sips of diluted broth before spitting out the straw.

"Why won't she eat?" Kichiro asked weakly. "What's wrong?"

"It's called seal sickness. The first time someone attempts blood sealing it causes illness that can be spread to others by touch. In fact, the way the illness spreads is how some seal masters figured out touch sealing."

"I don't care, what's wrong?"

"The lines are blood that's moving around under your skin and hers. Because both of you received the counterseal, the effects are less severe. They wouldn't be a problem at all if the two of you were older."

"What do you mean?"

"If you were teenagers, the only symptom would be the lines on your skin. You would only have to stay home for a few days to keep it from spreading."

"But now?"

"The counterseal isn't as effective. Both of you had pain-induced paralysis, high fevers, and nausea. The illness works by manipulating the body into killing itself."

"What does the counterseal do?"

"It's mostly precautionary. It prevents the illness from harming your internal organs and lasts until you're an adult, by that time, the counterseal strengthens your body so the illness can't cause severe damage. Since your illness was much less severe, I assume Kushina was the one who attempted blood sealing, correct? No one's in trouble, I'm just curious."

There was a pause. I assumed Kichiro nodded. The seal on the door was a blood seal—a seal I had made—this was my fault.

Mito turned back to me, trying to persuade me to drink some of the broth. I closed my eyes and tried to climb out of her lap, but I didn't even make it to the bed.

(o_o)

 _206 days since the Uzushiogakure massacre_

When I woke up next, Mito was gone and the room was dark. Kichiro lay facing me, his eyes closed. I squeezed his hand, but he didn't twitch. I knew I couldn't make it to the bathroom by myself, but I didn't want to wake him up, so I tried anyways.

I didn't even make it halfway across the room.

"Kushina?" Kichiro asked several minutes later. "Kushina, where are you?"

I was too exhausted to respond.

"Mito!" Kichiro called out, his voice breaking. "Mito! Kushina is gone!"

I flinched as a chair hit the ground. "It's alright, Kichiro, she just tried to get up. Go back to sleep, I'll take care of it." She set a candle down in front of me and brushed the hair out of my face.

"I don't believe you. Turn on the light and let me see."

But there was a light. It was right in front of me. Why couldn't he see it? Mito's hand tightened on my shoulder, then she picked me up. "The candle went out while you were asleep and it's still the middle of the night." She crouched beside Kichiro and put his hand in mine. "She's alright. I'll take care of her, okay?"

Kichiro lay back down. Mito helped me go to the bathroom, and when I finished, she washed my face and arms with a damp cloth before carrying me back out. As soon as she set me down, Kichiro hugged me tightly.

"Mito? If summoning is blood sealing, how come everyone who summons doesn't get sick too?" Kichiro asked as she tucked the blanket around us.

"Because summoning isn't blood sealing. A summoner's blood is one of the ingredients needed to activate a summoning seal."

"Oh." I didn't listen to the rest of the conversation. Kichiro was warm, but not too warm.

(o_o)

 _207 days since the Uzushiogakure massacre_

I woke up again to Kichiro crying. I took me a moment to find him because he wasn't on the bed beside me, he was backed into the corner of the room, his hands over his ears.

"Kichiro-kun, it's going to be okay—"

"I can't see!" He sobbed.

"It's only temporary. It won't be long, you'll be fine," Mito assured him. He yelped and jerked away from her touch, whimpering when she didn't let go. It wasn't right. Kichiro _never_ cried like that. I couldn't help it, I started crying too because Kichiro shouldn't have to cry.

"Don't touch her!" Kichiro suddenly screamed, scrambling towards me.

"Okay, I won't touch her," Mito placated as Kichiro yanked me into a hug and started mumbling nonsense into my ear. She watched him carefully, one arm outstretched as if to pull me away. Kichiro carded his fingers through my hair as the nonsense morphed into an unfamiliar lullaby. It wasn't often that Kichiro sang, but when he does, I listen until I fall asleep. It felt like he sang for hours. I didn't recognize any of the songs and the lyrics were all nonsense that only made sense to Kichiro.

Mito watched him as if he was crazy, but he wasn't. It wasn't nonsense that he was speaking, I knew that much. Kichiro had his own language. I used to listen to him talk in it while he slept—he always talked in his sleep.

Eventually, Kichiro exhausted himself and fell asleep. Mito carefully laid him down without waking him and told me to go back to sleep. I wriggled until I lay directly in front of Kichiro. It was a long time before I fell asleep. I traced the dark lines that meandered across his face in no discernable pattern. When Kichiro fell asleep, they were about two centimeters thick. When I fell asleep, they were half that thickness. I never saw them shrink. Mito said he was getting better and he would sleep until the lines were gone.

In comparison, the skin on my hands was still almost completely black, with only a few patches of ugly, greyish skin. Mito said that because I was stronger than Kichiro, my symptoms weren't as bad, at first. Because I was younger and the illness targeted me first, it would start getting progressively worse and it would last twice as long as Kichiro's.

Once I fell asleep, I didn't remember much of what happened over the following days. Kichiro was there the entire time and he never let go of me, persuading me to sip broth, washing my face and neck with a damp washcloth, holding me and humming the melodies when I got scared and cried.

Both of us fell ill on the same night. Kichiro was sick for almost four days. I was sick for seven days and eight nights. Kichiro said he thought I was going to die. By the time I woke up, fully recovered, Mito was gone, along with Kichiro's mattress.

We weren't allowed to use seals on out apartment anymore.

Kichiro got in trouble for not reporting the moment he was better, but he ignored the reprimand with a scowl. I hadn't noticed, but ever since the massacre, Kichiro had kept his distance from me. After I got better, my brother was back. No matter what happened, I always knew Kichiro loved me, but after I got better, there was never any doubt.


	8. Chapter 5d

_280 days after the Uzushiogakure Massacre_

 _Uzumaki Kushina_

I silently sneaked into the apartment. It was past midnight and I didn't want to wake up Kichiro. I glanced over at his bed and frowned when I saw it empty. I glanced at the kitchen table and saw Kichiro slumped over a book, a candle burning faintly beside him. He had fallen asleep reading as he waited for me. I scurried into the bathroom, changed into my pajamas, and shuffled back out.

"Kichiro!" I said quietly, shaking his shoulder as I blew out the candle.

He mumbled an answer and slowly pulled himself upright. I ducked under his arm and helped him to his bed where he flopped face-down on the mattress. I stifled a giggle and wriggled under his arm. He grumbled about having a second bed, but still curled closer, tucking his face into my hair. I was asleep almost immediately.

When I woke up, Kichiro was still fast asleep, facing away from me as I snuggled against his back and my cold fingers pressed against the warm skin of his back.

I didn't have to go to the Academy, and Kichiro had the day off as well. I curled closer to him, content for a little while, but when the sun finished rising, I couldn't sleep any longer. I didn't want to wake him up, so I slowly extracted myself and pulled away. Kichiro didn't stir. I was about to get up when I noticed that he had just cut his hair and it only fell halfway down his neck. Instead of getting up, I decided to play with his hair. I carded my fingers through his hair. It was a long time before he stirred. It was even longer before he finally opened his eyes and rolled over to look at me.

"Mornin'," he slurred, his head in my lap.

"Morning, Nii-san," I responded, still playing with his hair.

He started to sit up so I shuffled forward to hug him and press my chilled fingers to the warm skin under his shirt. He squeaked out a protest but still hugged me back.

"I don't wanna do anything today," he mumbled.

"But I'm hungry."

He groaned. "Fine, I'll make—"

"No! I want to make something."

He shrugged. "Have at it."

I stood up and scurried over to try and make something for breakfast. After a minute, Kichiro spoke up. "Kushina? Could you get me that book?" I looked over to see where he was pointing. A small satchel sat at the foot of the bed.

"Just sit up!"

"I don't want to move."

I opened my mouth to comment, but thought better of it and got him the book.

"Thank you, Kushina! I love you!"

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't hide my smile.


	9. Chapter 5e

_339 days since the Uzushiogakure Massacre_

 _Uzumaki Kushina_

I like playing pranks. If I could get paid for playing pranks, I would give up being a kunoichi. Minato likes playing pranks with me, but he only does it with me because I like it. Kichiro genuinely enjoys playing pranks. He pretends he doesn't and will never, ever admit to it, but I know the truth. He's not very good at carrying them out, but he has the best ideas. Whenever I ask, he _always_ has something new. There was this one prank with four mousetraps, a whole spool of ninja wire, and a bucket of sticky stuff that would stick to anything and wouldn't let go unless is was soaked in a foul-smelling liquid with a weird name. Kichiro said he wouldn't fight my battles for me, but he doesn't know that I use his prank ideas on bullies.

At the Academy, the other kids aren't very nice to me. Everyone knows Kichiro is apprenticed to a Jōnin and he's not even a shinobi yet. They also know that he works at the hospital and _everyone_ respects him. There's even a rumor that Kichiro is secretly in ANBU as a medic. That rumor scares me. Kichiro isn't in ANBU, I know that, but I also know that ANBU agents come into our apartment a lot and Kichiro heals them. He's not supposed to. If anyone found out how much access he has, I'm scared Kichiro will get in trouble even though it's not his fault.

Minato almost always walked me to my apartment. The one time he didn't—I stumbled in to find an ANBU lying in the middle of the floor, bleeding out. It was the first time I'd ever seen an ANBU. Luckily, Kichiro showed up before I had to figure out what to do.

"Kushina?" He murmured, stepping between me and the ANBU. "Have you learned how to assist a medic yet?"

After a moment, the question processed and I shook my head, staring at the key dangling outside his shirt.

"Okay, how about you take a long shower and it'll all be over when you're done, okay?"

I nodded.

"Just forget what you just saw," Kichiro said quietly as he guided me towards the bathroom, keeping himself between me and the ANBU.

I took an extra-long shower. When I came out, Kichiro was sitting at the table studying one of my seals, pieces of the Uzumaki Library scattered around him, looking like he'd been working the whole time.

"Kushina?" He said without looking at me. "What's this symbol here? It keeps repeating like it's trying to create a feedback loop, but somehow the entire array isn't collapsing or exploding." It was a genuine question, not something to distract me and make me feel better.

I squeezed onto the seat beside him—the seat was nothing more than a crate because I still hadn't gone to look for chairs like Kichiro asked—he put his arm around my shoulders and gave me an awkward hug, as if it made everything better. Surprisingly, it helped and we focused on the seal. "That's the kanji for 'harm', Nii-chan. You were supposed to learn it two weeks ago. Also, that's not the shape of a feedback loop, it's a stabilizing spiral. It limits the amount of damage the seal will inflict."

"What's a stabilizing spiral?"

I tried not to groan, I really did. I was only a few levels away from being considered a fūinjutsu master but Kichiro learned everything backwards. He would take random seals from our library and dissect them instead of learning through the primers like he was supposed to. It was extremely inefficient. Sure, he was already drafting Jinchuuriki seals and devising counter-seals, but sometimes, beginner-level concepts, like stabilizing spirals and feedback loops were beyond him. "A stabilizing spiral is critical in almost every seal that you don't want to make extremely deadly. For example, explosive tags don't have one because their purpose is to escalate out of control. Instant-kill seals don't have one either. Make sense?"

Unfortunately, by the time Kichiro declared bedtime, I still hadn't forgotten about the ANBU. After a few minutes of not being able to sleep, I heard Kichiro's breathing deepen. As soon as I knew he was asleep, I crawled out of my bed and wriggled underneath the covers of his, careful not to wake him. He woke briefly and shifted to give me more room, then went back to sleep. I did my best not to think about the ANBU. In the morning, everything was better—almost. I hadn't forgotten and I noticed traces that other ANBU had waited in our apartment to be healed, like when the pan Kichiro used to make breakfast broke and two days later it was fixed but Kichiro didn't know how. Or when Kichiro had a night shift at the hospital and he came in the door, just as I was running late for the Academy and rushing out. We collided and Kichiro's elbow went through the wall. No one got hurt, but by the time I got back, the hole was fixed, but Kichiro hadn't moved from where I laid him on his bed to sleep. Once or twice, all our dirty laundry vanished and was returned the next morning, folded neatly and left on Kichiro's bed. Very rarely would Kichiro notice, and only when his chores were done. He would stare at what he was supposed to do, shake his head, and mutter about going crazy and karma.


	10. Chapter 5f

_426 days since the Uzushiogakure Massacre_

 _Uzumaki Kushina_

"Kichiro?" I asked cautiously as he quickly put out the third seal that had started smoldering.

"Yes?"

"What are you trying to do?"

"Make an explosive tag?"

"Liar."

"Fine, I'm trying to make an empty seal that can just absorb any chakra put into it."

"Why?"

"As a decoy. You know how you have to use chakra to neutralize a seal, right? Well if someone thinks they have to neutralize it, they can pour as much chakra as possible into it, but it won't go anywhere, it'll just make them tired."

"A draining seal?"

"No, a seal that voluntarily accepts chakra, but just stores it and the chakra can't be accessed later."

"Then just make a chakra storage seal and take out the releasing notation."

"Oh."

"Kichiro, I'm not sure you should be working on seals without supervision."

"Probably not."

"Promise me you'll make sure I'm in the room while you're working on things, okay? No new projects without my okay."

"Kushina!" He whined, but both of us were immediately distracted when something exploded in Minato's face. "At least I haven't had anything do that," he quipped. I slapped his arm then hurried over to help Minato.

"Honestly, it's like the two of you are children!" I complained.

"Kushina, we are children," Kichiro responded, uncharacteristically grave as he started healing the mild burns on Minato's face. "I'm barely eight, Minato is still seven—on Uzu, we would still be in primary school, not experimenting with advanced theories while training to be ninjas."

I grumbled, but didn't argue.


	11. Chapter 5g

_532 days since the Uzushiogakure Massacre_

 _Uzumaki Kushina_

"Kichiro?" I asked, tugging on his sleeve.

"Hm?" he asked distractedly as he paid for a bag of rice.

"What's that?"

"What's what?"

I pointed at a shop across the street.

"Don't point. That's a ramen restaurant."

"What's ramen?"

Kichiro blinked and stared at me as if he couldn't believe I asked him that. "Ramen is food. It's super affordable, but we have enough money to eat something healthier, so I guess I've never thought to make it."

"Okay," I responded uncertainly.

"Come on, let's finish making breakfast at home, I'm hungry."

I didn't think about the ramen shop until it was time for lunch at the Academy. "Minato?" I asked cautiously.

"Can we go get ramen for lunch?"

Minato gave me an odd look. "But you love Kichiro's bento, especially when its stolen."

"I want to try it."

"You've never had ramen?" He squeaked, the blood draining from his face.

"No."

"Like, never, ever had ramen?" I reached out to steady him, quite concerned at his extreme reaction.

"Nope."

"What about Kichiro?"

"I don't know, he knew what it was this morning, but he didn't seem to have an opinion on it."

He frowned. "We'll get ramen and bring it back for dinner." He continued to mumble under his breath, but the bento I had stolen from Kichiro quickly distracted me. Stolen food always tasted better.

That evening was the discovery of the greatest food to have ever graced the universe. Even better than Kichiro's mysterious _pizza_. That evening was my first night in charge of food and Kichiro's last.


	12. Chapter 5h

_573 days since the Uzushiogakure Massacre_

 _Uzumaki Kushina_

I knew Kichiro hated fighting. Every time he went to the Academy to spar with some of the older students, he would come home in a bad mood. Sometimes, but not all the time, it would make him feel better when I made him ramen. That's why I never asked him to spar with me and Minato. I love my brother, I really do, but he was never very strong. I was always the one who protected him from bullies on Uzu. I was the one who got him down when he got stuck in trees or pulled him to shore when we swam too far out and he couldn't make it back. For a long time, I didn't believe it when he beat all the older kids in a spar. I definitely didn't believe it when I heard he beat an entire Genin team with a little taijutsu and some senbon. When the rumors were no longer rumors and the sensei even let us watch one of his matches from the classroom window, I couldn't ignore the facts any longer. My wimpy big brother might actually be a better ninja than me.

I had to know who was better. "Nii-chan? When's your next day off?" I asked as we sat down and dug into the takeout Kichiro brought home.

"Tomorrow. Why?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, Sakumo told me today that training would be cut short for the week but wouldn't tell me why. Mission, I think, but when I tried to tail him, I nearly got killed when he went into a Jōnin training ground. Actually, it might have been ANBU, I don't know, Sakumo didn't let me stick around long enough to find out. Hospital isn't expecting me until noon the next day. So, I have a day and a half free."

"Wanna do something?"

"You have the Academy tomorrow."

"I know, but after."

"Depends on what it is. I'm not helping you stalk Minato."

"No! I'm not stalking anyone! I was just thinking we could spend the afternoon together. I want to see who's better."

Kichiro put down his chopsticks and frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I want to spar."

He shrugged. "Okay, I'll fix up whatever poor bloke you want to beat up." He shoveled some noodles into his mouth.

"No, I want to spar against you."

Kichiro choked and the next thing I knew, a noodle was dangling out of his nose.

"Ew!" I immediately regretted saying that because Kichiro grinned mischievously and started pulling the noodle out of his nose. It didn't stop there. He grabbed the end of the noodle dangling out of his mouth and started pulling it back out his mouth. I screeched and tried to run away, but he just chased into the bathroom, which was the only room in the house that locked, calling himself the noodle monster.

When I dared to come out several minutes later, the mess was cleaned up and my plate was suspiciously untouched. I sat down and watched him carefully as I picked up my chopsticks. There was only a few bites left on his plate, which he pushed around.

"Did I hear you right?" Kichiro asked quietly.

"Just one spar," I answered.

"But why?" He pleaded.

"I saw you win against the older students. I want to know if I'm as good as you."

"You know I hate fighting, Kushina. Why does it matter how good you are compared to me?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but I couldn't think of anything to say. He was right, it didn't really matter at all. It wasn't like Kichiro would ever go rogue and I needed to know if I could stop him. Except, he never said he wouldn't spar, he just wanted a good reason. "I know it doesn't really matter who's better, but it doesn't change the fact I'm curious."

He just stared at his plate, pushing the noodles around.

I set my chopsticks to the side. "Last week, there was an extra class that taught us about how to fight someone we know is stronger than us. Basically, the sensei told us to fight smarter than our opponent. One of the ways he told us to be smarter is to pay attention to what we can learn from our opponents as they fight. Are they arrogant, confident, or scared? Are they itching for a fight, following orders, or don't have a choice? Do they like to fight, are they indifferent, or do they hate it? Most people become someone different when they fight and we can learn more about our friends and comrades. I want to know who you are in a fight."

Kichiro stood up sharply and brought his plate to the sink. He scraped the last of his noodles into the take-out container and washed the plate even though it was my turn to do the dishes. My eyes burned. I shouldn't have asked him. I knew how he'd respond.

He held out a hand for my plate. "Are you done?" He asked emotionlessly.

I nodded and he took the half-eaten plate, scraped it into a container, washed it, then he took the container and left to give it to the first beggar he came across. While he was gone, I pulled out my homework, but I couldn't focus, I just stared at the blank assignment through tear-blurred eyes until Kichiro returned. He walked past without even looking at me and locked himself in the bathroom. I didn't hear him come out of the bathroom. I didn't know anyone was standing behind me until I felt them touch my head, fingers tangling in my hair, beginning to pull, a second hand in my peripheral—I didn't even think before I turned around, a kunai in hand, knocking both hands away.

Minato's voice echoed in my head. _Your strength is taijutsu but you're almost always going to be weaker than your opponent. Your knees and elbows are stronger and you can deliver more force with them instead of your fists. Manipulate your opponent to be where you want them to be._

I jumped inside their guard and attacked. My left elbow swung at their left ribs—blocked—my right knee jerked towards the hip joint of their right leg—blocked—my right hand feinted at their face—they flinched—and when they took a step back, my left foot was there to trip them. As they fell, I pressed my kunai to their neck and landed on top of them.

 _If you can bear looking your opponent in the eye as you kill them, you're not fit to be a kunoichi. If you don't look your opponent in the eye as you kill them and acknowledge exactly what you're doing, you're not fit to be my sister._

It was the harshest thing Kichiro ever said to me. As we hit the floor, I looked into my opponent's eyes, ready to slash their neck. Immediately, I recognized Kichiro and jerked the kunai away from his neck in horror. He wasn't armed, in fact, he was wearing his pajamas and stared up at me patiently, thankfully unhurt.

But I almost killed someone. I almost killed my brother. The kunai clattered to the floor beside Kichiro's shoulder. I made him fight me. He probably thought I did it on purpose because I was upset he refused. I almost hurt him—I almost killed my brother. I stood up and tried to lunge away from him and towards the door. I had to leave before I hurt him again. He probably never wanted to see me again anyways.

At the last second, Kichiro caught both of my wrists. He must have used chakra to hold on because I knew his grip wasn't that strong. My momentum pulled him to his feet, but he still didn't let go as I tried to twist my wrists away from him.

Kichiro yanked me towards him and wrapped both arms around my torso, pinning my arms to my side. "It's okay, Kushina, I'm not upset," he promised. How could he not be upset? I hurt him—I almost killed him!

I tried to push him away, but I his arms were locked around the middle of my back and I couldn't even wriggle out of his grasp.

"I'm not going to let go, Kushina. I'm not going to let you run off like this."

I barely managed to stifle a sob.

"I love you, Kushina. Nothing you do is going to change that."

Shaking my head, I grabbed his shoulder dug into the muscle, preparing to dislocate his arm so he'd _know_ just how close it came.

Before I could do anything, Kichiro put his hand over my shoulder blade and with a small burst of medical ninjutsu, forced my entire arm to relax until it fell back to my side. "I love you, Kushina. I'm not going to let you leave like this." I tried to step backwards, but Kichiro's feet were rooted to the ground.

I fell limp against him and started sobbing into his shoulder as we both sunk to the ground. Eventually, his grip loosened and he gently brushed the tears from my face. I grabbed his hand and shifted until I was leaning back against his chest and could thoroughly examine his hand. It was rough, dry, and cold. Unlike any other medic I've met, his hands were roughly callused, like a farmer's, from his time working with his sticks. His knuckles had split earlier in the day, but instead of just healing them, he tied a strip of cloth around them and kept training.

I untied the cloth, carefully separating it from the scab as Kichiro watched. It must have hurt, but he didn't even twitch, he just flexed his hand once I finished.

"What do you see?" He asked curiously.

"I don't know," I answered quietly. He put my hands in his and rested his chin on my shoulder. He pressed one finger glowing with medical ninjutsu against the palm of my right hand. The faint scars on my hands started to glow.

"I know what I see." He touched the calluses from the hours I spent with a fūinjutsu brush. "I see someone who worked hard to master the skills they learned." He rubbed his thumb over the chakra burn around one of the tenketsu in my hand from where I activated the whirlpool seals around Uzu as we escaped. "I see someone who isn't afraid of her scars, someone who refuses to hide from the terrors and pain she's faced." He folded my hand into a fist and wrapped his hands around it. "I see someone who keeps fighting for what she believes in, no matter how much success she has or how many mistakes she makes."

I had nothing to say. "I love you, Nii-chan."

"I love you too, Kushina, now go get ready for bed, we're going to have an early night."

"I have homework."

"Don't worry about your homework, you want to be well-rested for our spar tomorrow."

"Are you mad that I asked?"

"No, you just caught me by surprise. I expected you to ask months ago and when you didn't, I though you never would."

"But you still don't want to spar."

"Kushina, I've seen you fight. I'm not masochistic enough to _want_ to be on the receiving side of your attacks, but the sensei was right. I can watch every fight you've ever had and know every skill you possess, but it won't be the same. I'm not naïve enough to believe we'll never fight together so I was planning to start sparring regularly shortly before whichever one of us becomes Genin first. Now, really, go get ready for bed. We're going to have an early night tonight." Kichiro pushed me to my feet and shooed me towards the bathroom.

By the time I came out, Kichiro was putting my Academy things away.

"But what about my homework?"

"I finished it. I mastered your handwriting yesterday, so it's no problem, you'll get your average homework grade on it."

Kichiro dropped my bag on top of my shoes next to the door, then flopped down on his bed. Most nights I ended up crawling in his bed anyways, but I didn't even lie down in mine. I just curled up against Kichiro's side. He groaned and muttered that I'd have to learn to sleep by myself eventually, but hugged me anyways before turning his back.

(o_o)

 _574 days since the Uzushiogakure Massacre_

 _Uzumaki Kushina_

Kichiro was perched on one of the lamp posts outside the Academy when I ran out of the building that afternoon. He looked so cool sitting up there as if it was the most comfortable place on the street.

"Why are you so excited‽" Minato whined as he struggled to keep up.

"Nii-chan promised to spar with me today," I chirped and grabbed his wrist to drag him over to Kichiro.

As soon as he saw us, he waved and jumped down, spinning around the lamp post on his way down with a whoop, completely ruining his cool image.

"That was fun!" He smiled at us as we ran up. "You two should try it sometime."

"Where're we gonna spar?" I asked. Belatedly, I realized where we were. Half the heads milling around the Academy turned towards us, closely followed by the other half.

Kichiro winced. "It looks like we're going to have an audience. I really need to learn to shunshin. Anyways, the Academy training grounds will work since it has a barrier for the younger observers to wait behind."

I skipped over there, pulling Kichiro behind me and pointedly ignoring the muttering. We faced off in the middle of the training ground.

"No seals or jutsu above C-rank. No targeting the audience. Safe word is 'ocean' and if someone interferes, we stop. Anything to add?"

"Don't go easy on me, Nii-chan!"

"Don't worry, I don't intend to."

We made the seal of confrontation then settled into our opening stances. Kichiro's beginning stance was horrible enough to make me wince, he wasn't even holding his sticks properly. "Nii-chan, are you sure about this?"

He smirked and then he turned into a blur. I barely managed to block the first series of attacks. I knew immediately that he would be the hardest opponent I'd faced since the Kiri ninja in Uzu. I took a deep breath and let my instincts take over. Dodge left, left, right, duck, left punch, jump, roll right, left kick, jump, ouch!

Unsurprisingly, Kichiro landed the first hit, which sent me reeling backwards. I dropped an explosive tag between us, forcing Kichiro to back off for a moment. A moment was all I got before being forced to replace myself to avoid getting riddled with senbon. We prowled around each other as I struggled to figure out how to set a trap. Before I could do more than drop a few explosive notes, Kichiro engaged me in another round of taijutsu.

Dodge right, jump, jump, avoid the tag, block kick, jump, jump, right punch. Why was he only attacking my legs? I figured it out a moment later when my left foot sunk into a hole, forcing me to twist my ankle or stand my ground. I stood my ground and landed two elbow strikes to Kichiro's torso in exchange for a cuffed ear and one of his sticks barely missing my head and nearly breaking my clavicle instead.

Kichiro pulled back, only to engage me again. Genjutsu. I didn't even see Kichiro's hands move as his Genjutsu version attempted to punch me in the face. The moment I felt his fist strike my jaw, I dispelled it, spinning as hard as I could to block Kichiro's strike from behind. To my surprise, I managed to knock one of the sticks out of his hand. Instead of disarming him, the stick hung from his wrist. The next thing I knew, my other hand was stinging from where he struck my knuckles with his other stick, forcing me to drop the kunai. Somehow, he used me knocking the stick out of his hand to wrap the strap of his stick around my wrist, binding out arms together. The kunai had gone between the bones of his arm, but it didn't faze him. Finally, he had a kunai against my throat and was smiling at me. Even though he took more severe injuries, he indisputably won.

"I yield," I said quickly. He immediately put the blade away and untangled our wrists so he could heal his arm.

"That was really good, Kushina. Not even sensei can reliably tell when I use that genjutsu."

I beamed in pride.

"I'm going to bolt before your classmates try to catch me. See you later, Kushina." He kissed my forehead before running off. A few younger students tried to follow him, but Kichiro was _fast_ when he wanted to be.


	13. Chapter 5i

_614 days since the Uzushiogakure Massacre_

 _Uzumaki Kushina_

Kichiro's voice woke me in the middle of the night as he babbled in his strange language, periodically thrashing.

I sat up and looked over at Kichiro's bed on the adjacent wall. I could barely see the outline of his body through the gloom.

He shouted something, distressed, begging for something. I quickly crawled over to him and laid beside him. He held tightly to my shirt and started sobbing.

I held him tightly, murmuring reassurances, but he continued to plead for something. I heard my name several times. It only lasted a few minutes before he fell silent and his grip slackened.

"I don't want you to die, Kushina," he murmured quietly, just as I was about to fall back asleep.

"I'm not going to die," I reassured him

"You can't die—I don't think I would survive that."

I felt like I had a giant rock in my throat. "I won't die."

"Promise me, promise me you'll never become a Jinchuuriki. Please, you have to promise me!"

"I promise," I said quietly. He was fast asleep, locked in a dream I knew I couldn't wake him from, no matter how hard I shook him, but I made the promise anyways. Maybe it would give him some comfort in his dream. I hugged him tight and pulled his arms around me.

Every few days he had a dream like this. Once or twice I asked him about the dreams in the morning, but he denied them, he never remembered them. Usually, they were worse—Kichiro would confess things I knew he didn't want me to know. Many things I didn't want to know either, but I held him tight and didn't let go until the dream was over, no matter what he said. I always listened because I couldn't bear to ignore him when he was so obviously hurting, even when I knew he couldn't hear or feel me.

Whenever he fell back into true sleep, I stayed behind him. Kichiro didn't like it very much when I crawled in his bed at night, but I couldn't tell him about the things he said while he was asleep because I was scared he would no longer forget them in the morning.

Instead, I told him it was because I didn't want to sleep alone. Although, he never said anything when Minato spent the night or when I knew ANBU were watching us closely during the night. I loved my brother no matter what.


	14. Chapter 30

_Author's note: This is the scene where Kichiro negotiates the treaty between Konoha and Iwa in chapter 30. It continues with some of what happened after._

* * *

 _Sarutobi Hiruzen_

I didn't know what I was expecting when I became Iwa's prisoner. Ōnoki was much more pleasant than I anticipated, I was fairly certain that he genuinely wanted the war to end. While he was less concerned about the welfare of his troops than I was about mine, Iwa would have more difficulty funding continued warfare than Konoha.

Luckily, I managed a tentative correspondence with Konoha so the Tsuchikage wouldn't be able to manipulate them into an adverse agreement by threatening me.

I didn't know what I was expecting when they dragged me to the site where the peace treaty would be created. I was not expecting to see Kichiro looking significantly worse for wear. What happened in Konoha while I was gone? The boy was supposed to be faking his death, not parading himself in front of the Tsuchikage!

When Danzō appeared behind him, a small bubble of hope dared to build deep in my chest. I didn't trust him, but he knew what he was doing and would have a plan. When I noticed my son trying to make himself invisible, I realized they were giving in to Iwa's demands. The boy didn't get my message. He was supposed to fight! Take the opportunity to set up a trap. I knew he was perfectly capable—Danzō should have advised him! How had the boy managed to convince Danzō to give in?

I replaced myself with a shadow clone and a genjutsu. Danzō slipped a scroll into Itsuki's pocket moments before I replaced him with a henged shadow clone. It took Itsuki a moment to realize he was in a different location. Luckily, he kept his head and didn't make a sound as he flung himself at me. I pulled the scroll out of his pocket. It was a message from Danzō telling me there was already a plan in place. It summarized my part in it, everything was properly compartmentalized, except a personal note that told me to trust Kichiro. I burned the scroll partially out of anger, partially to prevent Iwa from getting their hands on it.

"I'm so sorry, son," I murmured into his ear, hugging him tightly. I sat down against a tree to pull him into my lap and hid my face from the ANBU crouched several steps away.

Too soon, but long after Itsuki fell still, the ANBU put a hand on my shoulder and signed that the negotiations were almost complete. Itsuki nodded that he was ready to return. I wiped his face and did my best to reduce the swelling on his face from crying. I wasn't adept enough to completely erase the evidence, but I did my best. Real iryo-ninjutsu would forever be beyond me.

When my shadow clone impersonating Itsuki dispelled, I gained a record of the conversation.

"Now, Ryuunosuke-san, you have promised me the Uzumaki boy, where is he?" The Tsuchikage demanded with a smirk. As everyone stood up, I realized The Tsuchikage knew exactly who Kichiro really was, even though he was the only Iwa ninja to notice. Kichiro drew the attention of everyone onto himself as he removed the hitai-ate covering his hair. It was a good intimidation tactic. The tentative disguise Kichiro had worn only worked because Kichiro's description in the Bingo book was inaccurate. His red hair was unmistakable.

"I am Uzumaki Kichiro." Kichiro stated clearly. The Iwa ninja blanched, but quickly recovered, even the Tsuchikage seemed surprised that he wasn't trying to wriggle his way out of the situation.

One of the Tsuchikage's men whistled. "You got balls, kid."

Ōnoki scowled at the man. Kichiro had the upper hand for the first time in the exchange. Danzō signaled for me to appear behind Kichiro. I did. Kichiro didn't seem the slightest bit startled, though everyone else in the vicinity, except Danzō, was properly alarmed, even the Konoha ninja. I had a bad feeling as I activated the ANBU seal on Kichiro's back. There was a long silence. I was safe, why wasn't Danzō or Kichiro signaling for an attack? The boy shifted slightly into a position to take any attack meant for me. It was subtle and completely natural, I almost didn't realize what he was doing. I wasn't entirely sure it was conscious.

"Do not die for me, boy," I hissed at him, making it an order to be enforced by the Shitagau. Only his fingers twitched in acknowledgment. He didn't move, as if he wasn't expecting a fight.

"It's been said I have an extremely poor sense of direction but even I know you're facing the wrong way if you're heading back to Iwa," Kichiro stated.

I turned my full attention onto the Tsuchikage, silently daring him to try and take Kichiro and Itsuki. He just smirked back at me, as if he had already won. Too late, I realized he didn't want Kichiro because he was a medic, Jinchuuriki, or the Spirit of the Triage. I had no idea why they wanted him. The only clue I had to go on was the name Kichiro gave for the negotiations. I knew an Uzumaki Ryuunosuke before Kichiro was born. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how alike Kichiro and my old friend was. Kichiro was the man's spitting image—his son.

"You had a good shinobi in the making." Ōnoki grabbed Kichiro's arm and started to pull him away. No. I couldn't let them take him, I owed the boy's father too much. Kami, what would I tell his sister? Why wasn't anyone attacking? I sensed two Nara, enough to immobilize the entire Iwa force in seconds. There were enough ANBU to slaughter them—

Kichiro jerked free of both of us, his weapons vanishing into hidden seals. "I believe this meeting is over. Iwa has no reason to remain in the Land of Fire and Konoha has no reason to go back on their word." The Kyuubi's chakra flared for an instant and all attention was on Kichiro as his entire body relaxed, daring someone to test him.

No, he wasn't going to fight. Why wouldn't he fight? This close to Konoha, they could have trapped the forest beyond belief.

Danzō grabbed my arms and both sides retreated. Kichiro let the Tsuchikage grab his arm and drag him away. Danzō pulled me back. No, why wasn't anyone fighting?

"Let me go," I ordered Danzō, as an Iwa Jōnin grabbed my son and dragged him away.

"Stand down," he ordered in response.

Kichiro glanced back as I tried to wrench myself free, but one of the ANBU—I belatedly recognized Kagami—had already placed one of the most powerful prisoner containment seals Konoha possessed on my chest, which sealed my chakra and severely restricted my speed and movement.

"They're taking my son!" I hissed. Kichiro signed for me to stand down before the Tsuchikage yanked him on. They left the other clan heads behind, still bound. "My son shouldn't even be here!"

"Kichiro will take care of him and get him back," Danzō assured me.

"Kichiro can't work miracles."

"He can and he will, just like you would in his place."

"He's nine years old, Danzō. He's nine years old, a Jinchuuriki, and has the biggest bounty Iwa has ever issued for a Konoha ninja. I don't care what anyone thinks, he's not his father. He can't even escape Konoha—"

"He just did," Kagami quipped.

"He's loyal," I hissed at him.

"I know he is, you made sure of it. Just trust the kid. You made him your successor before this shitstorm for a reason. Trust yourself, if no one else."

"That is very difficult right now."

"I know, but right now, you have to convince both Danzō and myself that you're fit to retake the Hokage mantle."

"Let me go," I ordered them.

"Only once you convince Kagami you won't tear off after the children," Danzō stated.

It wouldn't be hard for me to convince Danzō, he had a difficult time determining whether I was lying. Kagami, on the other hand, knew me too well. If I went along with them now, I would have more opportunities and freedom to plan a rescue. They were right. Without a Bijū, tearing off after Iwa now would not be in our best interests—Kichiro must have planned the exchange, he might not resist being taken back, but he wouldn't help us either.

Kagami and Danzō were the two strongest shinobi in Konoha, aside from myself. They were strong, they were the only people in the village I could lose to if it came to a fight. Right now, if it came to a fight, I would win.

I looked up at Kagami, who had his Sharingan focused directly at me. I watched as it morphed into a different pattern, the Mangekyō. I knew of two of his abilities. The first, it could distinguish truth from lies, even statements which were a mixture of both could be easily separated. The second was absolute control of memory. Not even the strongest seals could stop him. There were two drawbacks to the second. First, Kagami felt the same emotions as the person whose mind he read, making it impractical in general interrogations. Second, victims with weak minds were slow to recover from the experience and some died shortly after. I suspected he could do more but something prevented him from sharing. I didn't pry.

I felt like someone was slowly crushing my heart as I made my decision. "I won't follow them," I stated as I looked Kagami in the eye. "I'll trust Kichiro."

Kagami nodded at Danzō and he slowly let go of me. The adrenaline faded and the full effects of the prisoner seal started to take its toll. I glanced around at the somber ninja. Luckily, the only person close enough to hear the exchange was a white-faced Sakumo. He was dangerously close to losing his composure at the loss of his student and my breakdown only made things worse. The other ninja surrounded us in a loose circle. Very few of the Konoha ninja taken captive were significantly injured, just shaken from my killing intent and watching Kichiro's negotiations. None of them realized that it was the boy's plan the entire time.

I replaced my killing intent with a soothing burst of chakra. Right now, the most immediate threat was Sakumo inadvertently undermining my authority.

"Kagami, get Sakumo away from here and somewhere safe and secure. Take care of your student."

He wanted to stay, he should have stayed, but I couldn't ignore the fact that Sakumo was a powerful shinobi. He would end up crippled or worse if I was forced to subdue him. Kagami taught him, he knew the man best and could subdue him without injuring him if necessary. Sakumo just endured something I knew I wouldn't survive: losing a student before their time. What made it worse was that I knew he looked up to me, just like every other Konoha shinobi. My confidence and resolve had shattered the moment he needed me the most. He watched his own sensei deny everything he believed in to stop me. He wasn't a child anymore, he couldn't be persuaded that what he saw meant something different.

Kagami hesitated, studying me carefully.

"I can handle this. Take care of him."

Kagami didn't quite believe me, but he turned towards Sakumo anyways and put his hands on either side of the man's head. After a few seconds, Kagami pressed his forehead against Sakumo's and they shunshined away. Danzō put a hand on my chest and removed the seal.

"Saru, I know your mind and emotions are messed up right now, but physically, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I answered reflexively. A moment later, I realized that Danzō held a fistful of the back of my clothes, keeping me upright. "I need a medic," I amended.

"Tsunade!" Danzō called. She approached from my left and my throat caught.

"Sensei, I can't—I can't do anything!" The ninja wire Iwa had bound everyone with had mangled her hands. Mine were mostly fine, I had reinforced them with chakra and the moment the Tsuchikage turned his back then loosened the wire to minimize the damage. If necessary, I could have escaped at any time, but I stayed because the others couldn't. All of them had fought capture until they were unconscious.

"What about the Strength of a Hundred Seal?"

"It can only fix what I can fix, and I can't fix this."

"Who can?" I demanded. Biwako was just on the edge of my senses, watching Itsuki leave. I flared my chakra to call her back.

Tsunade's answer almost made my heart stop. "Only Kichiro can fix hands with this much damage. He explained the theory to me and I tried, but he's the only one who can do it. The cells are dead, I can't regrow them, only Kichiro can. He adapted one of Tobirama-ji-chan's seals, but no one knows which one. He said it's too dangerous of a seal to share, something about sacrifices and bringing back the dead, but I think I misheard him."

I looked over at Danzō as she slumped against me.

"How did he get his hands on that seal?" I asked Danzō.

He shrugged. "Kid is a genius, probably read about it and reverse-engineered the thing."

"That's not possible, it took Sensei more than a decade to make that seal and he had Mito-sama's help."

"Like I said, the kid is a genius."

"That doesn't solve the problem." I raised my voice so everyone could hear. "Danzō, take the lead back to Konoha. What happened here is an S-ranked secret, no one is to even acknowledge they were here, understood? We're going home, everyone." Danzō let go of my clothes as Biwako ducked under my arm to support my weight. With her gripping my clothes so tightly and frequently turning her face into my chest to wipe away tears, no one would notice my weakness as we made our way back through Konoha.

I didn't hide my exhaustion as the citizens and Genin cheered our return through the main gates. The Chuunin and Jōnin already knew we had lost, they saw the forced smiles and noted the missing people.

Eventually, we made it to the Hokage tower and the rest of the group split off to their own homes. Tsunade muttered something unintelligible and left leaving only me, Biwako and Danzō in my office. Danzō nodded once to me and I pulled Biwako into the room adjacent as he took up a guard position outside the door.

Biwako and I sat down on the old futon.

"Lie down," she murmured, her hands glowing with a medical jutsu.

I let her push me onto my back. An hour later, I was back to full health, though tired. Biwako sat down on the bed beside me.

"That was our son, my baby. Our son is a prisoner of Iwa."

"I know. I messed up, Biwako. I know that."

She didn't say anything. I should have left the others to Iwa's mercy. They understood the risks and volunteered to take them.

(o_o)

When I returned to my office, there were five Genin waiting, kneeling seiza in a circle. They were quiet and didn't notice my entrance. I recognized them all. A strip of green cloth—the same color green as Kichiro's haori—was tied around their left wrists. Two were the Hyuuga twins, the sons of the clan head. One had been blinded, the heir. I was not looking forward to the resulting mess there. Minato and Kushina sat with their backs to me, their distinctive hair giving away their identity. The last member of the group surprised me the most. It was one of the Uchiha, Kagami's grandnephew, Kazuo.

I cleared my throat to get their attention. As one, they stood up, faced me in rank, and bowed. I studied them as they greeted me. Minato was in charge of them. After bowing to me, he was the one who stepped forward.

"Hokage-sama, I take full responsibility for my actions. I believed they were the only option to maintain order in Konoha after Kichiro was incapacitated."

"Minato—" Kushina tried to say, but the Uchiha grabbed her arm and cut her off.

Danzō sat primly on the couch by the wall, just observing.

"Just sit down, all of you, and tell me what happened, starting with the time I left. Shimura-san, please wait outside." Irritation flashed across his face, but he obeyed.

I turned to look at Minato and gestured for them to return to how they were. The Uchiha started. "Several minutes after you left, the Daimyō arrived and Kichiro went to meet him after dismissing the rest of us. I was there, with Hiashi and Hizashi." I noted the lack of honorifics, an odd development between Genin of their various lineages. "The Daimyō threated to kill Kichiro and his family, and when one of the Academy students got mad, the Daimyō tried to kill him, but Kichiro stopped him."

I frowned. That should not have happened, but it was fortunate for me, if Kichiro handled it well.

"Kichiro didn't take the threat seriously, so we organized a guard schedule around their house without him knowing. No one knows what they discussed except Kichiro because they locked themselves in a classroom. Afterwards, Kichiro set up headquarters a few blocks from the main gates in a scary house."

The biggest problem with young Genin was when they stumble onto critical information or are the only witnesses to something. They weren't mature enough to understand politics or subtext, so their reports were frustratingly vague. Kichiro intentionally muddled his reports, but he was fully capable of understanding and clearly conveying the necessary information when pressed. While he often didn't have the answers I needed, he could give enough relevant information for me to extrapolate answers. The group in front of me wouldn't even understand the questions I needed resolved.

Minato picked up the narrative. "After meeting with the Daimyō, Kichiro came to meet Kushina and me at the hospital, then left. He spent the night setting up headquarters, we think. No one saw him until the next meeting. During that meeting, he assigned a bunch of people to find all the Academy students and bring them in for a meeting. Afterwards, Kushina and I put up seals around headquarters, then Kichiro vanished. We have no idea what he did until he showed up to meet the Academy students."

The blind Hyuuga picked up when Minato faltered at my expression. I forced my face to go blank. "During that meeting, the first thing brought up was unknown agents circling the village. Kichiro ordered me, Hizashi, and Kazuo to investigate them as a team. Kichiro also told us to ignore and walk away from the civilian unrest, then dismissed everyone. He gave us an official mission to complete and then sent us off."

Kushina continued. "He told me, Minato, and two other Genin with Fūinjutsu experience to copy a bunch of seals and sent us off so he could talk to a bunch of old retired ninja and then to a bunch of parents to deal with the civilian problems. At least, that's the only thing we know he did."

The Uchiha continued. "Our mission went sour and we got hurt, so we came back and told Kichiro what happened. Kichiro couldn't fix Hiashi's eyes. Kichiro looked really sick but he wouldn't tell us what was wrong, especially after we told him that the ninja circling the village were the Seven Swordsmen."

I had to concentrate to keep my face blank. I had no idea how they were alive after an encounter with that group. They must have let the three go and warn the village or the three worked well enough together to genuinely escape a group of Jōnin.

Minato picked up the report. "A bunch of civilians tried to start rioting outside of headquarters. We tried to stop Kichiro, because he was looking really sick, but he told us to take care of a bunch of Academy students while he stalled the civilians." I noticed that the whole group was pale as the remembered what happened next. "There were so many of them and they were all screaming at Kichiro—horrible things. Kichiro just stood there, shaking. I don't know if it was because he was sick or because the civilians were so scary, but he looked so little and alone. Then a bunch of Genin went to defend him and started shouting back until Kichiro lost it. The Kyuubi's chakra was everywhere and Kichiro was hovering over everyone and scolded them. Afterwards, he vanished. Someone was pretending to be him, but only the five of us realized it."

Kazuo continued. "He never did anything bad, but we couldn't stop him. He made sure everyone was okay, assigned the Academy students to the houses of different retired shinobi, made sure all the Genin had a shinobi house to stay in, and no one was home alone. He did some other stuff too, but taking care of the others was more important than watching him."

I knew one of the ANBU had filled in for Kichiro, so I made a note to summon them the first chance I got.

Kushina continued. "Minato and I next saw Kichiro at home and he looked really, really sick, but since he was acting okay, no one said anything. I should have knocked him out, but before I could get close enough, the person who was impersonating Kichiro appeared, but we couldn't listen in on their conversation before Kichiro sent us away."

Hizashi spoke for the first time. "Kichiro returned to headquarters and finished healing Hiashi, then we all went to the meeting where he told us not to engage with the Seven Swordsmen. Then he went to punish the Genin who defied orders by making them unable to talk. After that, we were told that the Seven Swordsmen were breaking down the gates. We're not sure how Kichiro managed it because we were so scared, but he trapped them in an inn with a quarantine seal."

I blinked, but otherwise withheld my reaction to the absurdity of the statement.

"Then he collapsed." Kushina shivered. "We all thought he was going to die."

"I took control after that," Minato stated, his head bowed. "I had support, but it was entirely by my own initiative. I found the papers you left Kichiro and used those to make sure the village guard, as weak as it was, remained intact. I also kept the Genin and Academy students separate from the civilian population to avoid instigating another riot. Kichiro had told the civilians to leave if they didn't like how Konoha was run, so I let them leave, but I didn't allow them to take children with them because that's not fair and none of the kids wanted to leave."

The authority wasn't his to take. It was a stupid thing to do, it could have gotten him killed as a usurper. The fact that he succeeded for any length of time, with none of the subtle training Kichiro received, was noteworthy. I made a mental note to promote him to Chuunin if he passed the skills requirement.

"I had control for approximately forty hours. The five of us guarded the Swordsmen in shifts, no civilians would go near the area. I don't know what happened to Kichiro after he collapsed. An ANBU appeared and took him. He had the ANBU tattoo and Kushina confirmed it was real, so we told everyone Kichiro was suffering from chakra exhaustion from defeating the Swordsmen. No one questioned it. Someone should have, but no one did. I gave control to Danzō-sama when he arrived."

The group watched me wary of my reaction. "You said Kichiro was incapacitated, correct? Why wasn't he able to regain control later?" Danzō should not have had any power in the village, I explicitly banned him from doing so. He should have remained in Kiri, following orders.

Kushina glanced at the others, who didn't know the answer. "He was sick, really sick. Ise said he was going to die. He fell ill about a day after you left, and I saw him yesterday for the first time since."

That would explain why Kichiro looked so haggard. It also meant Minato had control for longer than Kichiro did. "If no one had contact with Kichiro, how did you know he was sick?"

"Ise told me when he stopped by home to get some seals and change clothes. He couldn't tell me anything else—he didn't know anything else, no one knew what was wrong with Kichiro."

"Is there anything else I should know about that you can't put in a report or needs an immediate answer?"

They exchanged a glance. "What happened to Kichiro?" Minato asked quietly. "He told Kushina and me what he was planning, but I want to know for sure."

"You're not his family," I answered as kindly as I could. "Kushina, if you would like to stay, I can tell you what I know, but I can't share it with the rest of you."

"You mean you won't," Minato corrected neutrally. "You're the Hokage, you share information with whomever you want." It sounded like something Kichiro would say but without the accusation or the blatant attempt to pick a fight or provoke me.

"I know you care about him, Minato. Later we will have to have a discussion about exactly why you broke protocol and took charge when there are three others, just in this room, who are older and more experienced than yourself."

"It wasn't his idea, Hokage-sama." Hizashi lied, earning a sharp look from Minato. "The five of us worked together the entire time, Minato was just the spokesperson for all of us and volunteered to take the blame." That statement was the truth.

"None of you are in trouble, none of you should ever have been involved. You did the best you could with what you had. I still need to have a discussion with Minato later. Is there anything that can't be included in a report?"

They shook their heads.

"Dismissed."

Kushina didn't stay for news about Kichiro. I didn't blame her.

(o_o)

The next day, a troop of former ninja rudely forced their way into my office. There were at least thirty of them. Bewildered, I stared at them, waiting for an explanation.

"We want you to make good on Uzumaki Kichiro's promise," someone demanded from inside the ranks.

"What exactly did the boy promise?" I asked warily.

"Students, for all of us."

Kichiro was very lucky to not be in the village at that moment. If he was, I would have slapped him upside the head and into next week.

"It won't cost the village anything. We'll all use our stipends to fund the training, and we'll only use the Genin grounds."

"This was not part of the boy's orders, you're going to have to tell me what exactly Kichiro did, promised, and his reasoning."

"He asked us for help with the war, someone to train the Academy students and watch them so the active duty ninja didn't have to. We take Academy students, train them, and when they're ready, we'll pass them on to active teams."

I frowned. That was sound reasoning on Kichiro's part. The boy's value just rose by a fraction. If he could offer such a simple solution to problems on a regular basis—

"We'll do right by those kids, we'll teach them what they need to survive. Please, Hokage-sama, we can't stand by and watch what we sacrificed to build begin to crumble and we certainly cannot sit idle while our comrades sacrifice themselves."

"Very well. I'll see what I can—"

"We already have our students, they're enrolled in the Academy, we just want permission to teach them. None of our names will be attached to them, we'll just give them lessons and a safe place to escape the civilians."

Putting the Academy into the hands of the retired ninja would significantly lessen the strain on the active duty resources.

I picked up a blank sheet of paper and scribbled down the situation, resolving to keep a list of the things I needed to thank Kichiro for. Not that I would ever share it, but the reminder would help me keep my patience with him.

"The Academy and all her students will be placed into the hands of the retired ninja. Decide on a leader, organize it however you see fit and present to me the draft and curriculums. I'll make it work if you're willing to compromise."

The retirees cheered and exited my office with a variety of limps and crooked gaits.

I decided to ignore what happened and return to figuring out the best way to determine exactly what Danzō did in my absence.

(o_o)

The following day, my efforts to ensure the village was completely under my control paid off. I sent an ANBU to summon Danzō while Kagami stood behind me, his arms folded and a sour expression on his face.

"You're making a mistake, Hiruzen," he stated for the ninth time.

"Can you honestly tell me that you trust him after the mess you uncovered barely three months ago? Damn it, he even had his claws in your student."

"Sakumo can take care of himself."

"But do you trust Danzō after what he did?"

Kagami gritted his teeth. "Saru, you're asking me to tear through his deepest thoughts—every single one of his secrets."

"I know what I'm asking. You've performed the technique on me."

"I didn't want to—I don't want to know the secrets of my friends."

"None of the Yamanaka have clearance for this. I have no idea how far his reach is, so I can't trust them."

"You're being paranoid. Danzō has turned over a new leaf. Kichiro told him something that completely changed his perspective—"

"I don't trust Kichiro either."

"Do you trust anyone anymore?"

"I trust you, I trust my wife."

"And?"

"And what? I trust the people who haven't betrayed me."

"Kichiro hasn't betrayed you!"

"He handed my son to Iwa."

"He didn't have a choice. Danzō is ten times the strategist and politician Kichiro is and he agreed with the boy! I know this village inside and out and even I agree that even with our resources, we couldn't do any better than Kichiro did!"

"Then why doesn't the boy follow orders?"

"You've hurt that boy more than he can understand. You've meddled in his life since the day he was born and you've ruined his life several times since. He doesn't even know a fraction of what you've done to him. Be grateful, because if he knew…" Kagami left the threat hanging.

"Are you trying to say I should spare Danzō because of Kichiro?"

"Kichiro's fate is your fault, he's your biggest failure. I'm warning you not to make an even bigger mistake with one of your closest friends."

"You don't trust Danzō anymore, Kagami, why should I?"

"People aren't good, Saru. You don't have to see the depths of human depravity."

"Your reasoning is selfish."

"I'm not sure who Danzō is to you, Saru, but he is my friend, a very close friend. If forced to choose between you and him, I will choose you, but I don't want to make that choice because of your stubbornness and pride." Years ago, I had given Kagami a choice. He could return to the general corps as a Jōnin, or disappear into ANBU and lead it. He gave up his very identity for it. I made him think about his decision for weeks, I did everything I could to talk him out of it, I made sure he knew that he would be responsible for taking on the most despicable tasks.

I had only asked him to go through someone's mind twice before. Twice. The first time, he performed it on me, partially so he would be able to impersonate me when the need arose, partially because it was the very first, and one of the only times he refused an order.

"He's here."

"Saru, please!" Kagami begged. I ignored him and opened the door for Danzō, who entered warily, immediately knowing something was off, even though Kagami's expression was properly blank.

"Good afternoon," Danzō stated.

"Sit down." I ordered.

He picked one of the seats in front of my desk and sat. I sat in the other. "What is this about?"

"Several months ago, it was revealed that you had a secret organization that answered only to you."

He gritted his teeth. "It was a mistake, Saru, I understand that now."

"Do you? I gave you explicit, written orders to stay on the Kiri front and not to return to Konoha until I did. You ignored those orders. I gave you explicit, written orders that you were to step down from all positions of authority in the village and not reclaim any of them until I told you otherwise."

"Would you have preferred that I left the village in the hands of a Genin?" He snapped. "It was never about me, it was only to preserve the village—"

"I don't care. Kichiro—"

"Kichiro was as good as dead. He could barely breathe, much less talk. He didn't even sit up when I went in. He was in no condition to lead. He gave up his authority."

"You're not helping your case."

"Then put me on trial, Saru. We're at peace, Konoha can afford—"

"I have a better idea. Kagami."

"A long time ago," Kagami began, "I told you that something had happened to my Sharingan, remember?"

Danzō's grip tightened on the arms of his chair. "I remember."

"There's a level above the regular Sharingan. It's activated under special circumstances and gives the user special abilities."

Danzō glanced between the two of us apprehensively. I folded my hands, leaned back in the chair and studied him carefully. Kagami stood behind me, his hands behind his back, eyes never leaving Danzō.

"I have several abilities, but the relevant one is the ability to see and manipulate all memory, including sealed, erased, suppressed, and forgotten memories."

"All memory? Including your own?" Danzō asked.

"I have not attempted to manipulate my own memories."

Danzō turned his attention to me. "You're condemning me for having too much power," he snarled.

"This is only the third time Saru has approached me about this ability," Kagami defended.

"It doesn't matter—"

"It does, Danzō," Kagami snapped. "I don't agree with Saru's choice, but he is not abusing his power. You abused the freedom he gave you."

Danzō gritted his teeth. "I made a mistake. I acknowledge that and it won't happen again."

"Trust isn't kintsukuroi," Kagami stated.

"I never said—"

"You broke our trust once, Danzō, then you defied orders before the memory even began to fade," I said and activated a barrier seal so he couldn't escape.

He relaxed his grip. "How can I trust you after this?" He asked quietly, slowly releasing his grip on the chair.

I was not obligated to answer that question.

"Very well. If this is what it takes to prove I regret my actions, then so be it."

Slowly, Kagami stepped in front of Danzō, his hands pressed together as if in prayer. "Omoikane."

Thirty seconds later, Kagami relaxed and took a step backwards. Danzō slumped forward in his chair breathing heavily.

Kagami took a moment to collect himself, then knelt in front of Danzō.

"What did you find?" Danzō snapped waspishly, flinching away as Kagami checked his pulse.

Kagami stood up and faced me. "He was telling the truth. There was no attempt made to subvert you while you were gone and Kichiro was incapacitated. He only worked for the betterment of Konoha. Despite everything, he is still loyal to Konoha, to you."

"Danzō, you are dismissed." I lowered the barrier. Danzō stood and marched out, slightly unsteady. The door closed behind him.

"Despite everything, he is still loyal to Konoha, to you." Kagami stated. "You have Kichiro to thank for his loyalty. The boy can work miracles."

"Speaking of Kichiro, do you remember Uzumaki Ryuunosuke?"

Kagami chuckled hollowly. "I don't think I could ever forget him, though it is for reasons much different than yours."

"He was Kichiro's father."

Kagami's mouth fell open. "How did we miss—he's exactly like his father."

"I don't know how we missed it. Iwa wanted Kichiro because of Ryuu. I don't know how he's connected, the man had only been to Iwa once. I need you, and only you, to reconstruct Ryuu's life to determine why Iwa is targeting his son now of all times."

"Ryuu died seven years ago, Saru. Reconstructing his life now is impossible."

"I want you to look into his death especially closely. He died on his way to Konoha and it was your clansmen who investigated."

"Don't expect me to find much. Ryuu was a Jōnin and he had too many reasons to stay under the radar, especially after what happened in Kiri."

"He left his children a legacy. I want you to find it."

"Uzu is nothing but rubble—there's too many traps still active there."

"I have my summons scouring for any information, but I want you to do an independent investigation."

"What about Kushina? She'll know if we start digging into her family history."

"Unless Kichiro told her recently, Kushina doesn't know anything about her parents. If she does cause a problem, tell her the truth: you're trying to figure out why Iwa wanted Kichiro so badly and it has something to do with their parents. I am keeping her in the village until Kichiro returns."

"Understood. Is that all?"

"Dismissed."


	15. Chapter 9e

_Context: During Kichiro's first mission, he made a circuit: healing along every front as Konoha fought in the Second Shinobi World War. This is_ _Katō Dan's opinion of Kichiro._

* * *

 _Katō Dan_

Medics are the most valuable ninja on and off the battlefield. That will forever be my opinion. I used to believe medics were the smartest and most talented ninja, until I met Uzumaki Kichiro, the so-called Spirit of the Triage and the only medic I personally knew who could rival (exceed) my fiancée's skill. I question the child's sanity.

The first strike against him: he doesn't know when to shut up. He deliberately antagonizes anyone who disagrees with him. I have no idea how he survived nine years like that. I was with him two weeks and I was ready to strangle the next word that came out of his mouth. Unfortunately, he was a medic and I very much wanted to avoid explaining to my troops why they wouldn't be receiving medical care.

Second strike: the kid is as clumsy as ninja come. Not even civilians trip over air as often as him. At first, I thought someone was pranking him because of how often he tripped, but either they were better than I could detect, or the kid was just genuinely clumsy. I asked him, and his reaction was: "Clumsy? Me? I'm not clumsy." I wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or if he genuinely believed he was coordinated. I fear the latter.

Third strike: The kid spoke mixture of Japanese and English. He carried a conversation just fine, but he had a difficult time distinguishing between what he thought and what he muttered to himself. The kid had to know that any ninja worth their salt could hear him muttering, right? I was about to mention it when his sensei, Hatake Sakumo, pulled me aside. Apparently, the muttering made it easier to understand what was going through the kid's head. He had some very strange ideas. I'll approach him about the English bit when we weren't in the middle of figuring out a war with Kumo.

The kid was smart, I had to give him that. I doubted anyone, even Tsunade, could do half the things I watched him do. Unfortunately, the kid had enough stupidity to balance it out. Instead of joining his team and resting while he had the chance, he kept working. Admirable, but stupid. He managed to save some of the ninja we thought were beyond saving. They gave the Kumo nin quite the shock when they returned to battle, but I had to force the kid to sleep. By the time he left, I wasn't sure what to think of him.

I knew one thing: I owed the kid. If it wasn't for him, the war might not have gone as well as it did. Scratch that, the war certainly would not have gone as well as it did if we went without his help.


	16. Chapter 9c

_Context: During Kichiro's first mission, he made a circuit: healing along every front as Konoha fought in the Second Shinobi World War. This is Roach_ _'s first official encounter with Kichiro._

* * *

 _Umino Ikkaku_

I couldn't die properly. It was like the Shinigami hated me. As a ninja without a clan or kekkei genkai, and as a junior ANBU operative, no matter how promising, I was the one who would be chosen, in any circumstance, to stay behind and slow pursuit, to take the job with the highest risk of capture, and perform any necessary suicide jutsu. The first time, when I was seven, it was considered a fluke. I did mess up the hand seals. The jutsu was supposed to immolate me, it was the signature suicide jutsu of Konoha. I wasn't old enough to have learned it, ANBU or not, but I managed to steal a scroll and learned it anyway, which put me on the list to perform suicide jutsus.

Instead of turning myself into a beautiful explosion of fire that liquified anything it touched, the Iwa ninja I was grinning triumphantly at exploded into a fiery mess. I barely managed to avoid the fire and raced to catch up with my team. They almost killed me on sight. It took two weeks, most of which I spent in ANBU prison, before they believed what happened. It took another two weeks to find a Yamanaka with the clearance to verify it. Two months later, time which I spent confined to headquarters, two Yamanaka joined the ranks of ANBU.

General-sama gave me a code to use if I ever failed to die again, because somehow he knew that I would mess up the deceptively simple suicide jutsu again.

The second time I somehow immolated an Iwa nin instead of myself, my teammates started calling me 'Cockroach'. By the time my ninth birthday rolled around three weeks later, no one called me 'Bird', 'Runt', 'Brat', 'Ikkaku', or any of my other names or nicknames. It was just 'Roach'. The name quickly grew on me until I started introducing myself as Roach. On my next mission out of the village, I ended up caught in a rockslide and walked away with only a gash on my temple, which later scarred, and a concussion. Then, during the first year of the Second Shinobi World War, I was caught in another rockslide. My entire lower body was completely crushed by a massive boulder and the rest of my team was dead. Then this boy, who was several years younger than me, a Konoha ninja in an obnoxious green haori that made me wonder how he wasn't dead yet, appeared out of nowhere, constantly looking over his shoulder.

"Sensei is gonna be here any minute," he muttered to me, his voice barely audible. "He'll get this boulder off you and we'll get you back to base."

"You idiot! Genin aren't allowed this far out of Konoha!" I hissed at him. I wasn't entirely sure he was a Genin, but he seemed familiar.

"I'm a medic," he responded, not even trying to deny the fact that he was most certainly a Genin, kneeling beside me and tearing open my shirt. "I have two Jōnin and a Chuunin on my team, I'm fine. Shit, I can't wait for Sensei, you're going to have to tell me if someone's coming."

"You can't heal this, no one can heal this, get back to your sensei!" I didn't dare raise my voice but I directed as much killing intent as I could at him. He barely flinched and it only made him more determined to ignore my orders.

"I almost managed to heal someone worse off than you a few minutes ago. I can do it this time. You're just going to have to keep watch and tell me if someone's coming. Under that henge you're ANBU Bird, right? You used to guard me on my days off. Keep watch and tell me if anyone shows up."

"Uzumaki‽ You shouldn't even be out here, you're a village asset!"

Kichiro was already starting to heal, even though my lower body was still trapped under the boulder.

"Get out of here!"

"Just keep watch for me, I'll be fine, I've done this before." He brushed me off as if I was nothing more than an annoying toddler. I couldn't force him to leave and he knew it.

"No, just take my mask and slit my throat and get back to base!"

"Shut up so I can concentrate."

My weapons were all stuck under the boulder, and I wasn't going to take any of his. Instead, I stretched one arm out to try and snag a stray kunai on the ground just out of my reach. The kid wouldn't leave unless I was dead. With a bit of clever chakra control, I managed to pull the kunai into my hand. The second it was in my hand, I stabbed it towards my chest, but it wasn't fast enough to escape the kid's notice.

He swore and flung himself at my arm. I barely managed to turn the blade and avoid hurting him. When he grabbed my hand, it went numb and he easily took the kunai, then pocketed it, before returning to his work. "I'm not leaving you. I know those are the bodies of your team above us, and you're just a kid." I would have activated the suicide function of my seal, but he was too close and the backlash would kill him as well.

I grabbed his wrists. "I'm a ninja and in the shinobi world, age is a hallmark of experience, not skill."

"That's a good one, I'll use that, now let go of me!"

"No, you need to get back to your team. You can't heal this. I don't care how much of a hotshot medic you are, you can't beat me, no matter how injured I am. Give me back that kunai, take my mask, and _go_."

Suddenly, I couldn't move and all my muscles relaxed. As the boy lowered my hands, I noticed the seal tag he stuck on me. I really wanted to strangle the idiot. I hoped no one ever found out that I was incapacitated by a Genin. I would never live it down.

"Serves you right for being an idiot," he has the audacity to mutter at me. "You could have just cooperated and kept watch, but now I have to put up a barrier."

A moment later, a dome of blue surrounded us, slowly lifting the boulder off me, and holding it in the air above my legs. I closed my eyes. I couldn't watch anymore.

"Good news, your pelvis is mostly intact and the ground was soft enough that your bones weren't pulverized, they're only covered in fractures and a few breaks. Most competent medics could heal this, but it'll take a lot of chakra. I have just enough left, but I'm not going to make it back to base by myself. Also, I won't be able to numb the pain. Sorry about that. Also, with this barrier up, Sensei won't be able to find me until it fails. You're going to have to pull your weight."

Almost an hour later, he pulled off the paralysis tag.

I didn't waste a second. I grabbed the kid and bolted. The boulder falling started another rockslide that I couldn't outrun, not with the residual pain in my legs and carrying the kid's dead weight. At least he was still alive as I bolted downhill. I saw a pseudo cave and swung the two of us inside. It was smaller than I thought, barely enough room for both of us. That same boulder landed over the entrance before I could leave and find a better spot. We were trapped, with barely enough room to move and no light. I pulled a cloth mask between my face and my ANBU mask so I wouldn't breathe in too much dust. The kid was unconscious and slumped against me.

There was nothing to do except make myself comfortable. Twice, the kid started to stir, but I put a genjutsu on him to keep him asleep and his chakra muted. I periodically sent out a distress signal through my ANBU tattoo. Hopefully, his sensei was close enough to get the message. It was almost thirty hours before the boulder was lifted away and the boy's sensei, ANBU Dog but without his mask, appeared. After an exchange of ANBU confirmation codes, I let him lift Kichiro off me.

"He's not hurt, I just put him under a Genjutsu."

"Report."

"My team was seen by an Iwa patrol and they started the first rockfall. My team is dead, and a boulder had crushed my lower body. Several hours later, Fox showed up—we're still calling him Fox, right?"

"No, just Uzumaki now."

"Okay, anyways, he showed up and started to heal me under a barrier of some kind. I was going to run us both back to base, but when the barrier holding up the boulder disintegrated, it started a second rockfall and the same, stupid boulder trapped us in there. I put Uzumaki under a genjutsu so we wouldn't attract any attention."

"Anything else?"

"He's not injured. I'm mostly healed, Uzumaki did a good job. The genjutsu will make him forget my identity. Everything else is classified."

"Have you completed your mission?"

"Yes."

"Head back to Konoha, the General gave you the codes for this situation, right?"

I nodded.

"You've definitely lived up to your nickname. Good luck getting out of the village again before you're fifteen. Enjoy the trip back."

I shunshined away. He was right, when General-ka-chan found out, I was benched. _Again_. It wasn't _my fault_ Iwa was so bad at killing me and it wasn't _my fault_ the Shinigami couldn't do his job properly. At least Uzumaki was always fun to tail and since I handled the one assassination attempt on the kid without the kid noticing, that was one assignment that wouldn't be taken away from me. Hopefully.

Who was I kidding? I might as well pick up a hobby, because I wouldn't be getting any missions for a while.


	17. Chapter 9d

_Context: During Kichiro's first mission, he made a circuit: healing along every front as Konoha fought in the Second Shinobi World War. This is a Jōnin's encounters with Kichiro, staring in Iwa._

* * *

 _Senju Nobuyuki_

The kid found me kneeling in the blood of my brother, holding his body in my arms. The battle had just finished, Konoha had won and Iwa had fled.

I was injured—it was a gut wound and too deep for the medics to waste chakra on. I'd heard about the boy. The 'Spirit of the Triage,' they called him. When I saw him, I assumed most of his reputation was false. He was too young, his expression too open and caring for him to be capable of bringing ninja back from the brink of death. I wasn't even sure he was a ninja, despite the Konoha hitai-ate on his forehead.

He crouched in front of me and held a hand glowing with medical ninjutsu to my brother's head. The stupid child looked ready to cry as he gently closed my baby brother's eyes. "Senju-san, are you injured?" He asked me. The stupid child was actually crying.

"Go home to your family, little boy. You shouldn't be here."

"Senju-san, are you injured?" He repeated.

I reached out and pushed him away, knocking him on his rear. "Go back to Konoha, kid, before you end up like us."

"Senju-san, I'm a medic from Konoha, I have orders to heal whomever I can." It was like he didn't even hear me. He didn't know who I was, he was too young to know.

I looked up at him. "Go away!" I screamed in his face. "Go home, child! My otouto _died_ for you, I'm dying for you. I'm orphaning my children for you, please go home where it's safe!" Tears started dripping from my eyes. He tried to reach towards me, but I slapped his hand away. "Please, son, just go home."

The boy stood up and turned around to shout in a choked voice. "Hatake! I need help!"

A white-haired man appeared beside the boy. "Senju-sama!" He exclaimed.

"Take the boy home," I begged him. "Please, take the boy home. He shouldn't be here. My father swore he would never let another child see the war. Please, Hatake-san. Take the child home. Tell my daughter, tell Tsunade-chan—"

"He's going into shock, I need to get close to him," the boy said. "He's too strong for my usual seal to work."

"Seal?" I asked, confused. "You're only a child. Only—kami, you're him. You're the boy my mother died for!"

He flinched and reflexively recoiled, but I grabbed the front of his shirt and jerked him towards me with one hand, while laying my brother on the ground with the other.

"We should have brought you in, kami, you were never supposed to leave the village." I didn't notice Hatake behind me until it was too late. He put his hand on the back of my neck, then nothing.

(o_o)

When I woke up, I was back at the base, lying on a cot in the infirmary. At least, what used to be the infirmary. All the cots and mats were empty.

"Makoto!" I wailed. I was dead. My brother should be here.

The door burst open and it was the boy. He hurried towards me.

"No, no, not you too! I told you to go home!" I screamed at him. "It was a _simple_ order!"

He stopped and flinched away from me as I stood up and grabbed the child's shoulder—Kichiro, his name was Kichiro—and shook him roughly.

"You were supposed to live!"

He was terrified of me. He was just a child, a Genin at best. It didn't matter who his sensei was, he was so _small_ , he was almost as small as Nawaki.

"Kami, I left you there—"

"I-I'm not dead!" He insisted. "You're not dead either. I'm a medic, I fixed you! We're back at the base and you're hurting me, please let go."

Slowly, I let go of him.

"You're alive, I'm alive, I promise. Are you okay, Senju-sama? I'm a medic, I can help."

I glanced down at my stomach. There was a scar across my abdomen, but there was no pain. "You shouldn't be here. You should be in Konoha."

"I'm a ninja, Senju-sama, I go where I'm needed. Please, sit down so I can make sure you're okay."

I grabbed the shoulder of the boy's clothes, shaking him again. "Where is your sensei?" I demanded.

"He's out on patrol right now."

"Who is your team leader?"

"My sensei."

"What is your mission?"

"To heal everyone I can and replenish Konoha's ranks as much as possible."

"You're going home, now."

"Senju-sama, stop! You're not completely healed yet!" Kichiro protested.

"Damn it, boy, you're going back to Konoha if I have to drag you back."

"More like you'll drag me out of the building and then collapse," he muttered, not resisting as I dragged him out of the room. I ignored him, but even though he wasn't struggling, I barely made it out of the room before my legs gave out. "Senju-sama!" The boy cried as he lowered me to the ground. "You're going to be okay, I promise, you just overdid it a little too soon. Give me a few minutes and I'll have you fixed up."

"I just want to be with my brother," I told him.

"I'm sorry, Senju-sama, you can't leave us just yet. You have to take care of your children, Tsunade and Nawaki, right? That's what Sensei said. Think about them, I'm going to make sure you'll see them again."

I closed my eyes.

"Sakumo!" The boy screamed desperately.

There was a clatter and someone else appeared beside me. "Uzumaki, remember protocol, what's wrong?"

"I messed up, I messed up and I think I killed him!"

"You didn't mess up, Uzumaki, I told you, he's too far gone to be saved."

"I have to save him, he's still alive and I have to save him!" The child's voice was painfully shrill.

I forced my eyes open and reached up to touch his face. "It's alright, kid, let me go." I turned to the boy's sensei. "Make it quick."

"No!" The boy screamed as Hatake grasped his weapon. "Please, Sakumo, I can fix it!"

A quick death for a comrade was something all ninja respected, but there were a small number of ninja who couldn't kill a comrade, no matter how far gone they were. The boy was one. If pushed, Hatake probably could, but there was no danger. He wanted to believe his student.

The boy took the man's hesitation as permission. His cool hands pressed against my abdomen. "It's poison," he announced a few seconds later. "Anyone who touched the wound has been contaminated."

"You're the only one, Uzumaki," Hatake murmured.

"That's why I messed up, it warped my perception. I'm breaking down the compound now, the poison in me has already been neutralized."

"Are you sure?"

"The Kyuubi took care of it."

To my surprise, the boy managed what he promised. He 'fixed' whatever mistake he made. I was exhausted afterwards, the boy was as well, but he had a triumphant smile on his face when he looked up at his sensei proudly. The boy said a quick goodbye, didn't even let me return the sentiment, and was gone, like a spirit. I was sent back to Konoha the next day. I the next time I saw the boy, he was negotiating the end of the war, then he was gone —a restless kami working to right the wrongs of the war.


	18. Chapter 2

_Context: A week after Kichiro's arrival in Konoha after the Uzushiogakure massacre, he was coerced into becoming a ninja. Here is the Sandaime's role in that coercion._

* * *

 _Sarutobi Hiruzen_

There was more than a little panic in the village after Uzu's destruction. Six merchants lost their entire livelihoods, and several dozen others lost massive investments. Two civilian clans went from being among the richest in the village to barely scraping by. When the team sent to reinforce Uzu returned with only a few small children, the village mourned. I was very well-acquainted with Uzu's defensive systems, but to know that they failed forced me to reinforce Konoha's existing systems in the middle of the crisis. ANBU hovered around the rescued children, making sure no one pursued to finish the job. As soon as a second team confirmed that there were no survivors on the island and that it was perpetrated by Kiri, I banned all trade to the island nation. Most of the world breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that the reputedly unstable clan was no longer a threat. More than one country started considering an attempt to take back what they lost in the previous war.

Over one hundred shinobi seal masters, nearly two thousand civilians, half of which were seal masters, were lost over the course of one day. It was the biggest massacre in recorded history. The only positive was that Kiri lost almost twenty percent of their active ninja before the defensive seals failed and all of the ninja who attacked died before they left the island. Before the other villages could start poking through the ruins, I ordered several ANBU teams to burn all the bodies and destroy anything useful. Even so, the entire ANBU team died from the same malady that murdered the attacking Kiri ninja. Mito explained that it was seal sickness and cursed the young ninja who had unleashed it in an attempt to defend the island. Mito, the only living ninja immune to seal sickness, followed up on the ANBU's mission.

Her report was chilling. The entire library and several private libraries had been completely cleared of the scrolls and books they had contained, but the security seals were not tampered with or alerted. Someone had stolen the information before the attack even began—something only and Uzumaki could have accomplished, which indicated the Uzumaki were betrayed by one of their own.

I wanted to ask the children if they knew anything about the theft, but when I used the Tōmegane no Jutsu to check on the children, they were having enough problems adjusting. An interrogation would have hurt them more than it would help us.

Observing the children was something I did as frequently as possible. The younger orphans were adjusting poorly, but the oldest two, a brother and sister, had more success. Something Hatake Sakumo had said about the oldest of the children stuck with me and I observed him through my crystal ball as the Chuunin interrogated him for placement and aptitude.

In five minutes, I knew the child had an extremely poor attitude. His answers were sarcastic and antagonistic. He slouched in his chair and played with the key around his neck—I wondered who came up with the idea to string the key on a necklace and prevent the boy and his sister from losing it, but I suspected it was the boy's idea. More than once, the Chuunin interrogator had to repeat the question. I made a note to praise the Chuunin for not reacting to the boy's subtle insults.

The boy wasn't particularly adept at lying, but his answers were extremely intelligent. When the questions started to become personal, he answered with a mixture of truth and lies. All but a handful of answers made him appear, on paper, extremely unsuited to become a shinobi. Unfortunately for him, the answers that said otherwise marked him as a genius and proved him to be manipulating the test.

When brought to the classroom, he subtly defied the sensei at every opportunity. By the time he stopped passing notes with his new desk mate and his sister, the two Chuunin assigned to interrogate the siblings knocked on my office door.

I gestured towards the kunoichi who interrogated the girl first. Her report was exemplary. She would most likely graduate early. Once she learned a few ninjutsu and some proper taijutsu, she would be ready for a Genin team and would be a Jōnin before she turned twenty. The biggest surprise was that she knew the basics of fūinjutsu. Kushina went so far as to claim that the only way Konoha could help her was to give her examples of seals to dissect. I made a note to speak with Mito about whether she was telling the truth or simply boasting.

I dismissed the kunoichi and turned to the man who interrogated Kichiro.

"There's no need to summarize what happened, I was watching the entire time. What are your thoughts on the boy?"

"He doesn't want to be a ninja. In fact, he is extremely antagonistic towards the idea, but as far as I can tell, he holds no antagonism towards ninja in general. He's obviously under an unexpected amount of stress for his age. I suspect it's the stress of trying to care for himself and his sister but introducing him to a caretaker would most likely cause more problems."

"What about his raw abilities?"

"His physique and intelligence indicate he could make Jōnin in ten years, probably less. If he has the proper training and dedication, he could be S-rank before his twentieth birthday. The kid is smart, probably smarter than me, and very mature, for his age, although his general maturity leaves much to be desired. Some of it is a façade, a front to make his intelligence less obvious, but it also is his way to vent his frustrations on those around him. I checked his apartment before the interrogation. His clothes are neatly folded in a box. His bed is well-made, I could bounce a ryō off it, but it's not obsessive-compulsive. It was at the strangest angle, as if it had been propped against the wall and he just pulled it down."

"Future specializations?"

"Mid or long-range Ninjutsu specialist. If given the choice, the boy will stay on the defensive, so close combat wouldn't suit him. Once he grows, he might be competent at Taijutsu or weaponry. If we start him on chakra control early, he might make a decent Genjutsu specialist; he has the creativity for it."

"Interesting. What do you think about him attending the Academy?"

"He'll intentionally fail out as soon as possible. The little asshole has no respect for authority and isn't intimidated. If he spends too long around the other children, they'll start to follow his lead."

I frowned. That didn't match up with the reports of him throughout the week. According to ANBU, he was polite and respectful of others, even the police. "Could this be a ploy to obtain an apprenticeship?"

"I doubt it. Apprenticeships are very rare for Academy-level students, there hasn't been one in over a decade. He has no way of knowing they exist."

"What do you think his reaction would be to being placed in one?"

"It would depend on who he's apprenticed to. If it's someone he respects and trusts, they might have more success than the Academy would. If it was someone he has no respect for or is easily riled by his taunts and attitude, it would be a disaster. The kid might end up inadvertently provoking is sensei too far and get himself killed."

"How would he react to force?"

"I don't know. The kid is unpredictable and he's tough as nails, or thinks he is."

"Thank you. You're dismissed."

As soon as the Chuunin left, I stood up and left the tower, steadily making my way through the village, stopping to have short conversations with the merchants, asking about the families of several shinobi, stopping a runaway from escaping one of the Military Police, even playing with some of the very young children at one of the parks I passed. This was my favorite part of being Hokage. Knowing that I was responsible for these people, that I had the authority to make sure their lives were as safe as possible. I loved how just my presence brightened the days of the merchants struggling to rebound after losing Uzu's goods and resources. I bought a handmade trinket from an underfed child wedged between two fruit stalls and tucked it into my pocket.

I made it to Hatake Sakumo's house sooner than I expected. He opened the door before I finished knocking, looking utterly exhausted. I suspected he had returned from an ANBU mission the night before.

"Hokage-sama! Please, come in. I was about to begin preparing lunch if you would like to—"

"Don't trouble yourself, Sakumo-kun, I won't intrude for long." I said once he closed the door behind me. "Is there a secure place we can talk? I have an important assignment for you, but it's completely optional."

"The main room has privacy seals that will make it difficult for eavesdroppers. Right this way." I followed him into a room with four comfortable chairs angled around a large window that faced the street. I sat down in the one facing away from the door, the window on my left. Sakumo activated the seal array beside the door then sat down in the chair opposite me. "To what do I owe the visit?" He asked pleasantly, but there was an undertone of worry in his voice and the way he fidgeted with his littlest finger.

"Uzumaki Kichiro."

Sakumo sighed in exasperation. "What kind of trouble did he start? I honestly expected him to last more than a week."

"Today is his first day at the Academy and I recently debriefed the Chuunin who assessed his aptitude."

"And the results?"

"You were right, the boy is not taking kindly to being in a classroom. In fact, he hates the idea of becoming a ninja."

"He what?"

"He is antagonistic towards the idea of becoming a ninja."

"The kid keeps getting weirder. What can I do, Hokage-sama?"

"I would like to apprentice the boy to you."

He frowned. "Why me? I've never taught a kid before."

"Kichiro trusts you more than anyone else in the village. You have the best chance at getting through to him."

"The kid is stubborn, stubborner than I am. If he doesn't want to be a shinobi, I'm not going to be able to change his mind."

"I disagree."

"You said this was optional, correct?" I nodded and gestured for him to continue. "Who would the boy be placed with if I refuse?"

"That's an interesting question. Why do you ask?" He knew something about the boy he wasn't sharing.

"You know who my sensei was. I grew up with a foot in the general corps and ANBU, plus a responsibility to my younger sister and an orphan. Kichiro may be capable of handling it, but he deserves better than that. His life is hard enough as it is and he's younger than I was when I had to take on the burden of both an orphan and ninja."

"I see. Unless something goes horribly wrong, I will not allow the boy in ANBU. If you refuse, however, I will place the boy with your sensei."

"The world thinks he's dead. You'd have to give up that advantage if he were to take another student."

"I am aware, and it would be particularly dangerous for his family to do so at this time. Since Mito refused to have any contact with the boy before I asked, the only other person I trust enough to keep their composure in the face of his attitude is my old friend, Danzō."

"I don't know Danzō-sama well, but he has taught me on occasion. Kichiro will learn, Danzō-sama's style of teaching does not allow for anything but success, however, both parties would hate the arrangement."

"I am aware."

"If I may ask, why are you asking me first? Both Sensei and Danzō-sama are far more capable teachers and have the political sway to take the kid without severe repercussions."

"I am aware. I'm asking you because the boy trusts you. I'm not fool enough to think you left nothing out of your report. He confided in you and you respected his privacy. It might have been extenuating circumstances, but it doesn't change the fact he trusted you enough to say something." Sakumo tensed in front of me. "I won't ask you what he said. The boy is still a child and it doesn't matter."

"I see, thank you.

"I'm not going to force you to take a student, much less one as difficult as Kichiro will be. The clans, council, and myself will be monitoring and directing the boy's progress carefully. You won't have to worry about thinking of things to teach him."

"No, I'll take the kid." I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows in surprise. "But on one condition: I decide when the kid learns new material and I reserve the right to prevent him from learning something."

"Why do you ask that?"

Sakumo looked down at his hands and answered. "I don't think the kid will abuse anything he learns. I would be genuinely shocked if he ever acted out of malice. It's just that if the council and the clans have control, they'll push him to learn too fast. That almost happened to me. When I was a kid, I barely managed to master one skill before another was shoved at me. Sensei couldn't do anything about it and nearly lost the apprenticeship several times because of the pressure and the fact he was an Uchiha. Most of all, I don't want another kid to be put in my position, not if I can do anything about it."

"Why would you want to prevent him from learning something?"

"I'm in ANBU because my sensei was. I trust that you won't break your promise to keep the kid out of ANBU, but considering who I am, who my sensei is, and who the boy is, it's only a matter of time before something goes horribly wrong. I barely know the kid, but I do know this: he will never be able to take the kind of missions ANBU does with impunity. If I can make sure he doesn't learn certain ANBU skills, I can delay that eventuality as long as possible."

"I see. That is very wise of you, Sakumo-kun."

He didn't react to the praise.

"I accept your terms, but I have a condition of my own."

He nodded and looked up at me.

"The boy will become a ninja by any means necessary, even if it requires inhumane manipulation or abuse. You have three days to begin his training."

"Understood, Hokage-sama."

"The Academy's break for lunch should be beginning soon. I would prefer it if the boy did not return to the classroom."

"Understood, Hokage-sama."

I stood up and left, leaving Sakumo deep in thought.


	19. Chapter 41

_Author's note: This chapter corresponds to chapter 41, just after Kichiro leaves Minato and Kushina to go into ANBU._

* * *

 _Namikaze Minato_

"What's with the sour faces, you two?" Kichiro asked suddenly, partially jerking me out of my trance for a moment before I returned to my thoughts. Kichiro's substitution a moment before had been strange. There was no wasted chakra, no puff of smoke or the popping sound of displaced air.

Dimly, I realized that Kichiro was declaring that I would figure out the Hiraishin. I smiled in acknowledgment and decided it would be appropriate to excuse myself. I needed to write down the theory budding in my head to see if it still made sense.

Kushina appeared several minutes later. "Minato, are you okay? You were acting weird."

"I had an idea, but I'm not sure it will work anymore," I responded as I continued to scribble things down.

"You know Kichiro isn't actually trying to pit us against each other, right?"

"I wasn't paying attention to him, sorry," I muttered. "Where is he? I need to ask him something."

Kushina winced. "He's gone."

"Gone where?"

"I'm not sure, but we won't see him for a while, it's classified."

I hissed in frustration. "Do you know how he does his perfect substitution?"

"It's not perfect, but it's pretty damn close. It's all just chakra control. A perfect substitution would be to replace with air or something so it would look like the user just vanished, but it's impossible, at least, Kichiro hasn't been able to figure out a theory where it is plausible because air is so insubstantial. I've seen him replace with needles, which I'm pretty sure is supposed to be impossible as well. Anyways, why are you asking?"

"What if Hiraishin is a type of substitution instead of speed?"

"We already ruled it out as an option, nothing is left behind when it's used."

I snarled incoherently and flung the budding theory off my desk.

"Minato?"

"I'm not sure I can do this—"

"Kichiro thinks you can."

"And I'm not sure I want to keep working on this."

"Don't you dare even think of giving up!"

"No, I don't want to because I don't think I should keep working on this."

"Minato—"

"If I master this, I could kill an entire battlefield in seconds, with no warning."

Kushina frowned. "You could end wars with this. If Konoha was too strong for anyone to even think of standing against us, we could make sure that no one has to fight."

I pushed the papers away from me and stood up. "Come with me."

She silently followed me un the stairs. I sat down on one of the mattresses and when Kushina sat beside me, I activated one of the privacy seals.

"You know I don't like what your brother stands for, right?"

"I know, but I don't want to argue about it now."

"I'm not trying to argue. I'm starting to think that he may be right."

"Minato—we've talked about this. Kichiro is _wrong_ —"

"I don't like it, and I hate his methods, but do you remember what he told us about responsibility?"

"Kichiro is only a year older than us. He doesn't know everything, he's not perfect."

"That doesn't mean he can't be right."

"You're the one who always insists that he toes the line with treason."

"He said something once, I don't know where you were. He told me to kill a fat rabbit snuffling beside a tree. I thought we were just going to have wild game for dinner, so I did, I threw a kunai right through the rabbit's head. He went over and gutted the rabbit. He made the cut all wrong, I remember that. A moment later, a litter of baby rabbits came out. After a minute, they were all dead and Kichiro didn't do anything to help them, even though I begged him to."

"That doesn't sound like Kichiro."

"Then he said something strange: 'Once you let a weapon fly, you can't take back or fix the damage it will do, even if it was unintentional.'"

"Minato?"

"He didn't stop there. He continued: 'One day, you're going to have a choice whether you will pick up a weapon.'" I fell silent.

"And?" Kushina prompted.

"And that was all. He buried the babies and the rabbit—refused to even bring them home to eat—and he walked me home. When I asked him what he meant, he said I would understand when I needed to."

"Kichiro never lets things go to waste like that." Kushina waited with surprising patience for me to make my point.

"I think Kichiro somehow knew I would pick up the Hiraishin and try to figure it out."

"That's impossible. We didn't even think about reverse-engineering the Hiraishin until after Kichiro left for Iwa."

"But what if this is what he warned me about?"

"You just sound silly, Minato, Kichiro couldn't have known anything about the Hiraishin until he got back."

"Then why would he do something so strange if he didn't have a point?"

"I love my brother, but for as long as I could remember, Kichiro has always done strange things like that. Sometimes I wonder if he's crazy, but it's just how he is. He does strange things."

"I've seen Kichiro do strange things, this wasn't one of them. He did it deliberately. He knew exactly what he wanted to tell me. I—I think Kichiro can see the future."

Kushina froze for a moment, then covered it with false laughter. "You're—"

"I'm right, aren't I? At least possibly?"

"No, you're not," she lied.

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm—"

"Kushina, the only person who lies worse than you is your brother."

She snorted. "Trust me, Kichiro lies half the time he opens his mouth."

I flinched. "That's not true."

"I know my brother better than anyone. I know when he's telling the truth, when he's lying, when he wants someone to think he's lying when he's telling the truth, and when he wants someone to think he's telling the truth when he's lying."

"Kichiro doesn't lie."

"Kichiro doesn't lie to the Hokage because he can't, but he lies to everyone else. Sometimes he doesn't realize that he's lying."

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not!"

"Prove it! How did he lie to us today?"

She closed her eyes. "He doesn't think he's coming back from ANBU," Kushina answered quietly. "He said he would see us again, but he doesn't believe it."

"Do you mean he's going to die?"

Kushina took a deep breath and nodded. I noticed tears glistening along her eyelashes.

I couldn't help but shudder. "Kushina, why wouldn't you say anything earlier—he can see the future, if he says something like that—"

"No! Kichiro cannot see the future. I swear."

"If you're right—I'm not saying you are—how can you not take something like that seriously? Before every mission, Jiraiya-sensei used to say—"

"If you don't think you'll come back, you won't."

"Exactly! He could get hurt or killed—"

"What would happen if I said something? I'll tell you what would happen!" Kushina snarled, two tears tracing a line down each cheek. "He is the Kyuubi jinchuuriki and the village is at _war_! Do you have any idea what that means?"

"Calm down, Kushina."

"I am calm! Kichiro and the Hokage hate each other. I don't know how much is personal and how much is professional enmity, but it's serious. Kichiro is, without a doubt, the very last line of defense this village has. If the Hokage ever doubts whether he can do his job, he will be replaced."

"He shouldn't even be a Jinchuuriki!"

"I know!" Kushina hissed.

"He's a medic! He shouldn't even be fighting, everything in his profile says so! Why shouldn't he be replaced?"

The next thing I knew, my head snapped to the side and I bounced off the wall. My cheek burned and it took me a moment to realize that Kushina had slapped me. I was used to her throwing regular play-punches, and real punches in spars, but she never held any malice when she struck me. Her attack hurt in a way I didn't even know it could hurt. My face burned, my jaw ached, my heart seized. "Don't you ever even think of suggesting something like that again, Namikaze Minato," she snarled.

Kushina could be terrifying when she wanted to be, but she had never directed her full fury towards me before. I tried to stammer out a defense, but it quickly withered as she continued.

"Jinchuuriki die if their Bijū is removed, there's no possibly way for a Jinchuuriki to survive when their seal breaks. Replacing Kichiro means killing him."

"We could find a way—" I tried to choke out, but my entire body felt dead as I realized what I had just said to Kushina. It didn't matter if it was out of ignorance. I was lucky she only slapped me, the last person to threaten Kichiro in front of her barely survived. Even so, her hands closed around my throat, nails digging into the tender flesh—

"There isn't a way. The seal is attached to Kichiro's very soul and there is absolutely no way to—" Kushina grunted as I yanked her hair. Reflexively, she let go with one hand to stop me from pulling. I took advantage of her weakened grip and twisted free.

In the scuffle, I managed to plant my foot on her chest and throw her off me and against the barrier. She bounced off the seal and I scrambled backwards.

"If anyone can keep him alive, we can," I rasped my response. "We can save him—we can bring him home and make sure he never has to leave again!"

"Then who will bear Kichiro's burden in his place?" She wheezed back. "I'm next in line, Minato. It would only hurt Kichiro more if it was me in his place, or worse, Fusō's baby."

I took a deep shuddering breath, closed my eyes, and tried to change the topic. I hoped Kushina would forgive my mistake. "How did Kichiro know so many stories about the tailed beasts if he couldn't see the future?"

"He just knows things. Minato, please, don't ask me how, just accept that he knows things. I know why, but I can't tell anyone."

"Why not?"

"Because I love my brother."

"How do you know for certain—"

"Because what I know contradicts your theory. Please, Minato, don't ask."

I carefully bit back my first question before asking: "Will you ever tell me?"

Kushina settled on her knees, her head bent. "Not unless there's no other choice, but not because it's a secret. I don't want anyone to look at Kichiro differently."

"You don't trust me?" I asked, hurt.

"I do, I trust you with my life! But…"

"But what?" My back pressed against the edge of the barrier as I tried to pull as far away from her as I could.

"I don't trust you with my big brother. Not yet."

I turned to leave but she grabbed arm. "Minato, wait!"

"What?" I snapped harshly.

"You know how Kichiro is. He's my big brother, Minato. He's the only person who cares about me unconditionally."

I tried to protest, but Kushina sliced her hand through the air to cut me off.

"I know you care about me, Minato, but there are a lot of things I haven't told you."

"You—"

"I know you, Minato! You care for me, but it's not unconditional. I can see how you treat Kichiro when you don't agree with him."

I tried to argue but I couldn't deny it.

"I love you, Minato, but Kichiro will _always_ come first." She let go of my arm and I fled.

"Minato?" Fusō asked as I reached the bottom of the stairs. "What's wrong?"

A choked sob escaped my throat before I managed to flee.

"Kushina?" She called up the stairs before I was out of earshot.

I ran straight back to my apartment.

Kushina was right.


	20. Chapter 50

_Author's note: This chapter corresponds the chapter 50, where Sakumo throws the kunai at the Genjutsu Kichiro to kill him when he supposedly lost control._

* * *

 _Hatake Sakumo_

As a shinobi, I'd seen horrible things. As a lifelong member of the black ops, I'd seen even worse. Watching Kichiro possessed by the Kyuubi was near the top of that list.

The moment my sensei determined that Kichiro was a liability to me, he tested me. Once the apprenticeship was solidified, I had been told that Kichiro might become a Jinchuuriki. My sensei had made sure it wouldn't be a problem, that I wouldn't reject the boy when he eventually carried the Kyuubi. I swore not to, and I had stood by that oath, however, immediately after, they made me swear a second oath, with even more rigorous tests. I had to be able to kill my student in cold blood.

They said it was because Kichiro was a liability—they never gave me a real reason, but I suspected it was because Kichiro had a habit of defying orders. He listened when it was critical, but whenever there wouldn't be severe repercussions, he rebelled. He showed up late sometimes and other times he refused to comply with training or walked off the training ground. He had his reasons—valid ones: questions and concerns I couldn't answer, which was why I never punished him too severely for his defiance.

The first time, I had no idea it was a Genjutsu—I didn't have a chance against a Genjutsu from a Sharingan, especially my sensei's Sharingan. They recalled me from a patrol just outside the village walls and brought me to the ANBU holding cells. Kichiro was chained on his knees in the middle of the cell. They told me that he was caught attempting to desert the village and had coerced his sister into joining him. The fact that it was my mess went unsaid. I had failed to instill any loyalty in him and it was my duty to clean up.

I drew a kunai and walked into the room, then crouched in front of him. He spat and snarled at me, but his eyes had that same disappointed and betrayed look as when he looked up at the Hokage tower—as if he expected better and hadn't even considered that his expectations wouldn't be met.

He struggled as I shifted my grip on my kunai, quickly realizing what I intended to do. I managed to keep my face blank as he started begging for his life, pleading with me, screaming the most hurtful things he could think of. I laid one hand on his forehead and faster than the boy could see or feel, I drove my blade into the base of his skull—the boy didn't see or feel a thing. He died instantly and the Genjutsu ended—I was still standing in the middle of my patrol and Sensei stood in front of me, his Sharingan spinning lazily.

The second time, I was told the boy had gone mad and not even the Yamanaka could help him. The kindest fate for him was death. They showed me where he was—pacing around one of the thick Hashirama trees, babbling nonsense in that strange language of his. They had brought him somewhere peaceful to die. His eyes were empty and glazed, unable to recognize me and his emotions—fear, sadness, ecstasy, apathy—shifting through him without discernable reason. I snapped his neck as he clung to my chest, sobbing and babbling like an infant. I took a step back and the Genjutsu ended with Sensei standing in front of me, his Sharingan deactivated.

The next time, I almost really killed the boy. I told him not to pull out the Kyuubi's chakra. Damn it! The boy sold out the secrecy of his Jinchuuriki status to try and win a stupid skill assessment. The idiot! His eyes changed, his fingernails turned to claws and his abominable posture turned animalistic. He claimed to be in control with a voice influenced by the Kyuubi. I believed him, until he stiffened and started to curse and panic, lunging towards his sister. I screamed at him to stop, but he kept stalking forward. Desperate for it to be just another test, I released a pulse of chakra that disrupted the Genjutsu for everyone—it was a normal Genjutsu, not my sensei's. Kichiro was still wreathed in the Kyuubi's chakra, but he was still in control. One of his sticks was coated in chakra—when had the boy learned to make a blade like that? Was it the Kyuubi's influence? He stalked towards the kunoichi holding his sister. I didn't know what he was planning until he thrust one of his sticks through his sister's chest.

I tasted bile and the next second, I stood over the siblings as Kushina clung to her brother, shielding him from me, screaming as I tried to separate them without jostling the blade through her torso. Kichiro lay underneath her, glassy-eyed and unresponsive as she screamed his name and shook him. The Shitagau glowed through his gloves and there was no trace of the Kyuubi's chakra. The next thing I knew, I was fighting for my life and they were gone.

I knew one thing: I would never allow Kichiro to draw on the Kyuubi's chakra again. It was too dangerous, too terrifying, too risky.

I learned another thing: I could and would kill my student if the need arose. It was one fact I did everything in my power to hide from Kichiro. The boy would never forgive me if he knew, he would never trust me.

By the time I had destroyed my enemies and tracked down Kichiro, the situation was nearly over. I nearly had a heart attack when I realized there were powerful ninja from five nations surrounding him.

When he smirked, I wanted to smack him for his idiocy. Not even I was likely to survive the fight that was about to break out over the boy. "You seem to be laboring under the delusion that I'm going to, what was the phrase, come quietly? I can tell you this, I have no intention of going to Azkaban—"

I had never wanted to slap someone as much as I wanted to slap Kichiro right then. It didn't matter if the aggressive parties were restrained. I taught him better than to taunt prisoners—I thought he knew better; I thought he held himself to a higher standard. The moment Kichiro stopped drawing on the Kyuubi's chakra, I shunshined towards him to appear behind him, but he ruined my attempt at intimidation in exchanged for lunging forward to assault the Raikage. I never realized the boy had a grudge against the man. There was too much I didn't know about Kichiro—far too much.

"I think peace negotiations would be more helpful at this point than revenge, Kichiro." I admonished.

"Fine, Sensei," Kichiro responded. The entire assembly went still at his statement. Kichiro had no idea what he had just done by publicly acknowledging me as his teacher. First and foremost, it was a show of strength. The fact that a high-profile Jōnin had the time to take on a student downplayed the effects of the war on Konoha. It also made those present reevaluate Kichiro's skill and acknowledge him as more than just a lucky medic. Second, it told everyone present that I was extremely close to the Hokage, either his student or the student of one of his inner circle. Only someone who had the Hokage's full trust would be allowed such influence over the village's Jinchuuriki. Considering Kagami had begun to reclaim his name and reputation, it was only a matter of time before my position as his former student was common knowledge. Luckily, that would give both of us another layer of protection. Kagami was arguably the strongest Uchiha since Uchiha Madara himself and was known to be extremely protective of those he cared about before his death was faked. Finally, it was the first time Kichiro ever acknowledged me as his teacher. Aside from putting the Hokage's mind at rest over Kichiro's loyalties, it gave me the confirmation I didn't know I needed. Most of the time, teaching Kichiro felt like trying to lecture a wall. He learned quickly, but his expression was always guarded, he resisted everything I said. There was no reward in teaching Kichiro.

I was a good enough shinobi to stay disciplined on the outside, but inside, I was elated. It was the first time Kichiro ever genuinely addressed me as 'Sensei'—it was practiced, unintentional, as if he had thought of me as his sensei for a long time. It always irritated me when he called me 'Sakumo' as if he had no respect for me, but it was a battle that wasn't worth fighting. I knew I had his respect, albeit grudging, but the confirmation was worth it.

As soon as I could, I dragged him away from the scene and slapped the back of his head in admonishment. He swayed, off balance and pale in front of me. I had never felt an acute need to be overly affectionate before, but at that moment, I wanted to hold him tightly and shield him from the problems mounting on the horizon.

Instead, I pulled him onto my back, holding him firmly in place and noting how he settled his weight against me, trusting me to take care of him. I wanted to hit him and call him a fool for trusting so easily, but I already knew his answer. He would shrug and say: "If I don't trust others, they'll never trust me. I can't say my success is because of one thing, but shinobi who trust their doctors recover faster than those who don't."

The next time I stood in front of a partially-transformed Kichiro, it was worse. I had to pay attention to avoid injury during the spar and at first, I feared I had pushed him too far. I feared that the injuries were too painful for him.

Kichiro was still a child. It wasn't often, in fact, it was quite rare for him to be so tactless, but sometimes, he slipped up and revealed just how young and inexperienced he actually was. A Genjutsu of him losing control took it too far, especially in front of an audience. Kichiro had a very small repertoire of genjutsu, but what he could use was devastating and nearly impossible to counter. Something in Iwa had damaged him—he never would have manipulated me like that before. My eyes burned and my throat closed as I threw the kunai with the intent to kill, completely unaware of the Genjutsu until it was too late. His head snapped back like a thousand other opponents, the ring of the kunai protruding from Kichiro's forehead, his mouth open in fear and betrayal. I watched the light leave his eyes in slow motion, blood trickle from his forehead, down his face, collecting in the corners of his eyes before dribbling down his cheeks as if he was crying. The Kyuubi's chakra vanished without a trace.

Slowly, his body tipped backwards, his knees buckling. Kichiro landed on his back, his legs bent at an awkward angle. A moment later, the body vanished, time moved at a normal speed, and I heard Kichiro screaming off to one side. My first thought was a vengeful spirit, but when I managed to tear my eyes away from where Kichiro's body had vanished, I saw Kichiro—alive—fling himself in front of a kunai—my kunai—seconds before it went through another boy's head. The kunai hit Kichiro's shoulder and slammed him into the wall. His head striking the stone sounded like bone breaking. Kichiro collapsed. I couldn't move as others rushed towards the boys. It wasn't until I saw Kichiro stir—until they pointed a blade at him—that I could move again.

I sent him home—I couldn't be around him, not when he _knew_ —I didn't trust myself not to hurt him.

It would be years before I trusted myself enough to interact with Kichiro again—he was stronger than me when I next said more than a polite greeting to him.


	21. Chapter 64a

_Context: The Sandaime's perspective when Konoha is invaded by Suna and Kiri. This correlates with Chapter 64 of Spirit of the Triage._

* * *

"Hokage-sama, Uzumaki Kichiro cannot be found in the village," the ANBU reported to me. Two Jōnin beside him affirmed the statement. The brush in my hand snapped before I managed to reign in my frustration.

"Where is he?" I demanded.

"He was last seen several hours ago near the west gate with Jōnin Uzumaki Nagato and Genin Uzumaki Natsuki."

"Damn it! This is the last time I will allow this behavior from that _child_!" I slammed my hand down on the desk. "Cat, organize a party of seven ANBU and meet me at the west gate." He vanished. "You two, with me. We are going to arrest Kichiro and those with him. This is the last time he is allowed to break protocol like this."

It took two minutes for Cat to appear at the gate alongside me with his team. Before I could give the order to move out, one of the ANBU, Bird, stepped forward. "Hokage-sama, with all due respect, arresting Fox doesn't feel right. He's saved all our lives several times over."

"Tell me, Bird, if an ANBU team were to come back on the brink of death right now—"

"Fox would meet them at the gate, just like he always does. When he leaves the village to train, he never goes far. It's been almost a year since an agent died inside the village walls save the one time Kichiro was on a mission in Kiri—hell, he's vanished in the middle of duty and returned with injured ANBU who would have died before reaching the gates. He may be inconveniencing you and us, but he _never_ neglects his duty."

"Bird, are you compromised?" I demanded. I knew the young man was right, but I couldn't allow Kichiro the double standard any longer. I would court-martial any other ninja who left the village without permission.

"No, Hokage-sama."

"Follow orders, ANBU Bird."

I turned around to move out. Before we had even made it through the gates, an explosion of chakra nearly knocked me backwards. Two of the ANBU and one of the Jōnin stumbled and fell backwards. The Kyuubi appeared above the treetops and started ravaging something underneath it. A lump formed in my throat as Jiraiya landed beside me. I didn't even know he was in the village and I found myself desperately wishing he wasn't.

"Sensei—" The appearance of several more shinobi cut him off. In minutes, an army would be assembled in front of the gate.

There were two possible reasons for the Kyuubi's appearance without a barrier to prevent its chakra from being felt in the village. First, Kichiro lost control. Even though I disapproved of the boy training to fight with the Kyuubi, there was no denying that he was competent. The second reason for the Kyuubi to appear was if Kichiro encountered an enemy he couldn't fight by himself. I shuddered at the thought of a ninja that powerful. As much as I hated the thought, I suspected Kichiro could defeat me if we ever fought all-out. He was younger and had a lineage I couldn't compete with.

There was a glint of movement in the trees in front of me. "Hold!" I shouted, barely stopping the ninja behind me from attacking. Nagato burst from the trees, wheezing. The Kyuubi wasn't even three kilometers away. I didn't want to imagine how fast Nagato had run to be out of breath over such a short distance. Unable to breathe, I watched him flip through hand seals—a combination he shouldn't have known. A heavy weight settled in my gut. A moment later, the alarms changed from a general alert to ninja and orders for civilians to return home, to code black. An invasion.

Nagato set his sister on her feet and she rushed through the ninja and into the village without needing to be told.

"Invasion!" Nagato gasped, barely loud enough for everyone assembled to hear. "Suna and Kiri! Three Jinchuuriki! Kichiro is stalling! Two kage! Help!"

I glanced behind me at the ninja assembled. The Kyuubi rolled to the side, crushing a swath of forest beneath it. Kichiro was trying to destroy as much of the force as he could. I hoped the invasion force was smaller than I feared it would be. When three more Biju appeared and the Kyuubi didn't even turn to face them, I couldn't breathe. Kichiro's kill count was barely in the double digits. He would never commit such destruction unless Konoha was in danger of being wiped out. The Kyuubi turned and launched itself at one of the Biju that had just appeared, rolling over another massive section of forest.

I took a deep breath and turned to the assembled ninja. Minato and Kushina landed in front of me, their arms full of sealing supplies. "Kichiro can't win that fight without help," Kushina said.

"Go, help him," I ordered. They took off. "Nagato! Go with them and watch their backs." When the three had gone, I addressed the ninja gathered—every ninja in the village, save a few Genin who knew the proper procedures for a code black. "ANBU! Move out! Genin, maintain the village walls. I want every Genin in this village on guard." I noticed one of the more popular Academy Chuunin standing several paces away. He would be the most familiar and I knew he was a competent leader, albeit a subpar fighter. I set him in charge of the forces left in the village and the ranks thinned far more than I was comfortable with. "Everyone else, we are being invaded by Suna and Kiri. The village walls cannot, under any circumstances, be breached. If we lose the wall, we lose the village. This isn't just a battle, this is the beginning of the war. If we lose this battle, we lose this war. Uchiha, I want your Sharingans on. You are to surround the Biju and prevent our ninja from being caught in the fight and prevent enemy ninja from interfering. Medics: none are to enter the fighting. If someone is injured, wait for them to be brought to you. Konoha cannot afford the death of any of our medics, especially if Kichiro does not survive this fight. Work together and take no hostages. Any Konoha shinobi is your teammate, all other ninja are enemies to be killed—show no mercy. Work together and we can defeat this. Konoha is the strongest village, let us show them that peace has made us stronger than ever! Let us make them regret ever setting foot in Hi no Kuni!" I let the ninja roar for a moment before shouting over them. "Move out!"

I had barely reached the devastation Kichiro had caused when the Mizukage and Kazekage landed in front of me. One-on-one, I could beat them both. I may not have been the strongest Kage in the shinobi nations, but this was my land. I lived in the forest my entire life, fighting among the trees was in my blood. My opponents were used to fighting in the open air. The Kyuubi's claw landed behind them, upsetting their footing for the briefest moment and the creature's chakra began to poison their own. I summoned Enma and lunged forward. I just had to hold out against them until someone could help.

The two Kage ducked behind trees for cover and the battle began. Once or twice, a Jōnin took a pot shot at one of my opponents, but no one dared involve themselves in the fight.

At some point, the Bijus disappeared. I took a handful of small injuries, but dealt worse than I got. I sent a prayer of thanks to my predecessor for the trees that saved me from more injuries than I could count, including several death blows. Ultimately, when the two kage began to work together, I could not defeat them. When someone constructed the barrier, I quickly lost hope. The best I would be able to do was kill one of them.

When I saw the opportunity, I took it. "Mizukage-san, Kazekage-san, this is your one and only chance to retreat. You cannot defeat Konoha on her own ground."

"Your bleeding heart has turned against you, Hokage, none of your precious little leaves can help you."

The fight resumed and I held no technique back. I gained injuries left and right, but they didn't even slow me down. I managed to slip a kunai through the Kazekage's defense. It bit deep into his neck. I felt the satisfaction of my blade going through his spine, completely severing his head. Blood rained down on my head. I tried to turn to counter the Mizukage's blade through my back, but I knew I would never make it. A blur of bright red and green caught my eye as I turned, watching in horror, unable to move fast enough to stop the person throwing themselves between us. I yanked their weapon from their hand as the Mizukage's eyes widened. His blade was caught by the interfering ninja and he wouldn't be able to defend himself from my counter. I cracked the ninja's weapon over the man's head just as he managed to free his blade. He stumbled backwards, but the stick barely broke the skin of his skull. If it had been a blade, he would have died. Which idiot ninja under my command didn't carry a blade?

Too late, I realized that there was only one ninja skilled enough to carry sticks into battle rather than a blade. Enma snapped the neck of the Mizukage as I turned towards the ninja who saved my life. He swayed once, a massive hole in his chest. The blood-soaked blade fell to the ground as he pitched backwards.

"Kichiro!" I screamed—I didn't care if I lost my composure. I caught him as he fell, collapsing underneath him, desperately trying to stem the bleeding.

He gazed up at me, smiling, content with what he accomplished. I couldn't allow that. The boy had to live, he had to.

"Medic! Medic!" I screamed hysterically, drawing on every scrap of iryo-ninjutsu I knew to prolong his life. "You can't die, boy, you can't!"

"When I left…for Iwa, you ordered me…not to." He gasped out. He tried to focus on me, but he was too weak. I couldn't feel his chakra. "Fitting, I suppose, that…I die defying orders."

"You're not going to die, Kichiro." I swore, but his head rolled against my chest. "Medic!" I screamed. My eyes burned as I ran my hands over the wound. He wore no armor—not even his Chuunin vest. If he wasn't dying I would have been screaming at him for the foolishness of leaving the village with no armor and only his two sticks for defense.

"The Kyuubi's seal…it will release him at my death…I altered it." I didn't care—It didn't matter because I wouldn't let the boy die.

"Medic! You're not going to die, I swear." I couldn't control the Iryo-ninjutsu, so I stopped trying to heal him, fearing that I would cause more damage. "Medic! Medic!"

"It looks like I won, _old man_ , you…really have no control over me. There's…no way for me to survive this, I…don't have enough chakra left."

I knot formed in my throat. "You will survive, Kichiro, you will, I swear."

"I'm not scared, it doesn't hurt. I'm—ready. Tell—tell everyone I'm sorry." His eyes glazed over then closed. "Tell—I love—" His body twitched once before his heart and breathing stopped.

"No!" Nagato screamed. I couldn't spare him any attention, I laid Kichiro on the ground and bent over him, breathing air into what was left of his lungs and forcing his heart to continue beating.

A medic landed beside me, but I didn't stop. She started to put his body back together. Another medic landed, with two shinobi behind her and started a blood transfusion in his leg, the ninja with her providing the blood.

Someone else started cutting away what was left of Kichiro's shirt to give the medics better access to the wound. I didn't move from my place beside him until my wife laid her hands over mine and smoothly took my place. I took a step backwards and started to help prepare a stretcher for him, making sure it was sturdy enough to support the my wife as she maintained his vitals.

"Our top priority is making sure Kichiro lives!" I announced to the ninja who had gathered. The fighting must have been nearly over for so many ninja to be gathered to watch. Professionalism had been abandoned and most of the ninja present had damp eyes. "Kichiro saved my life," I said, looking back at his unresponsive body. "For the next three days, any enemy ninja found in Hi no Kuni is to be executed immediately. Gather our dead and injured and bring them back to Konoha along with anything useful from the invaders but leave their bodies to rot and be ravaged by animals—only drag them away from any water sources. Anyone who threatens our children in such a way does not deserve to have their bodies honored."

(o_o)

Twenty-four hours later I was moving about the village, directly managing the preparations for war. Biwako landed beside me. "Kichiro?" I asked, completely forgetting about to two Genin I was speaking with.

"He's alive. Come with me." She led me to a somewhat private alley so our conversation wouldn't be casually overheard. "His heart is beating without help and he's breathing on his own. His sister managed to direct us to a cache of chakra she had stored up for either herself or Kichiro in the event of a situation where both of their chakra was dangerously low. We couldn't have saved him without it."

"Is he awake?"

"No. There are a number of complications, but at the moment, there is nothing life-threatening."

I pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you, thank you so much."

"Everyone wants him to live, Saru."

"I know, but thank you." After a moment, I released her. "What are the complications?"

"The medics were so concerned with stopping the bleeding that the wounds weren't cleaned. Some of the debris in his wounds can be dealt with by his body, but there's enough that we're going to have to remove them surgically. As long as we watch him carefully, we can wait until he's stronger. It'll be safer to perform the surgery then."

I nodded agreement. "I already waived his family's rights to decide on his care, so you and Tsunade are making decisions for him. What else is there?"

"Part of the Mizukage's blade fractured inside of him. It's going to cause problems, but for now, we're hoping that the problems don't show up for a while. We can't use any more medical ninjutsu on him or it will put too much stress on his body—his chakra coils are damaged, but not nearly as damaged as we feared. We're going to have to wait a few days. He's the sixth case of someone living this long with the injuries he received. The other five cases were during the last war and Kichiro treated them all in the field. He recorded what he did and we've managed to dig up the records, but they only explain what he did, not the symptoms of the patient or anything beyond the injury. For us, they're practically useless. All of the cases he treated had complications, but he didn't detail what they were. The boy is barely literate, usually, his reports are much more sparse in details."

"But he'll be okay, won't he?"

"We don't know. He's alive and stable. If he stays that way for the next week, he should live."

"What about long-term?"

"He's in a coma right now. No one knows if he'll wake up."

"He's young, he'll pull through."

"You want him to pull through, but he's bad off. He's in a coma. By itself, we wouldn't be overly concerned, but he went hours without a steady and natural flow of oxygen to his brain. His brain is miraculously alive, but in what condition we won't know until he wakes up—if he wakes up. He channeled the entirety of the Kyuubi's chakra for more than ten minutes. Before this, his body was strong, it was used to the Kyuubi's chakra, but he is still human and human systems cannot handle that much chakra. His body is still developing, so his chakra pathways are still slightly elastic. Because of that, they were stretched too much. We're lucky the Kyuubi's chakra didn't simply destroy his chakra system. Parts of it burst, others were almost completely corroded, but they were still there. If he was younger, he would be fine. If he were a full adult, his chakra pathways would only have suffered the corrosion."

"He'll be fine," I insisted.

"No, if he recovers, it's not going to be pretty. His heart won't heal completely. After Iwa, his heart never fully healed, now it's been damaged again—if he recovers, a strike to his chest could rupture his heart. If he's able to use chakra again, he should not be allowed to resume his duties as an active ninja. The best you can hope for is that he can continue as a medic in the hospital."

"Kichiro has a habit of defying expectations."

"This isn't an expectation, his heart stopped four times after we got him into the operating room. I talked to his sister and she told me that she doesn't want him to wake up. The boy has suffered enough, he's had a full life despite everything, and he deserves to rest."

"He almost died for me—I can't let him follow through with that attempt."

"Men and women have died for you before."

"I can live with that, they had their duty to this village—they thought my life was more important to Konoha than their own, but Kichiro is different. He's one of two viable candidates for my position—I'm too old for this job."

"Saru, you hate the boy."

"I used to hate him, when I thought he was malicious and immature, but I know better now. The boy—no, that's not right. He's never been a boy. When he came to this village, he was terrified. It doesn't matter how, but he knew he was going to become the next Jinchuuriki and he handled the information extraordinarily well—like an adult. From the beginning, he intended to take his sister's place."

"Saru—"

"No, Itsuki wasn't much younger than he was, but I wouldn't have even dreamed of making Itsuki take on as much responsibility as Kichiro voluntarily did. Mito-sama told me why she couldn't adopt the children. She told me that it would be my responsibility to take care of them. I gave him an apartment, I made Sakumo train him, but that's not what she meant. I should have been Kichiro's father, not his master."

"You told me that before, but you didn't take him in because it wouldn't have been fair and you couldn't do so knowing that you would betray both siblings when you made one of them a Jinchuuriki."

"I should have never put the Shitagau on him—I should have kept him in the village and held his hand while he adjusted, not send him off to a war, severing any relationship we could have had."

"Occasionally, I observe Kichiro when he counsels ninja. He often talks about something called survivor's guilt. It happens among those who survive something when others don't. Kichiro chose to take that blade for you. That's just the kind of person he is, the kind of man he's growing into. That's why you want him as your successor."

"We can't talk about this here. Come with me."

I took her hand and led her into the room where Kichiro lay under the careful watch of his sister and a medic-nin. The medic bowed respectfully at me and Biwako before scurrying out. Kushina looked up at us but didn't move from where she lay beside her brother.

"You can't be on the bed with him, Kushina-chan."

"The medic said he was stable."

"Yes, but he's very delicate right now. If you jostle him too much, he could start bleeding and we might not know until it's too late."

Kushina stood up and swayed until Biwako guided her into the wheelchair. "He's hungry, he needs something to eat."

"I wish my boys were as close as the two of you are," Biwako said as she bent to check Kushina's vitals. Despite everything, I couldn't stop myself from smiling at how tenderly Biwako took care of her patients. "Hokage-sama is going to take you to your room with Minato, okay? You can lay down with him and keep yourself warm."

"Warmth sounds nice."

I stepped forward to push her wheelchair out the door.

"That way," Kushina pointed as we entered the hallway. I quietly followed her directions, greeting the medics I passed along the way. "Right here," she said. I waited for several medics to pass, all of them giggling with each other. Kushina scowled at their behavior until I steered her into the room. There was a bed and a cot. Minato lay unnaturally still on the bed, his chest barely rising with each breath. I parked the wheelchair between the beds. Kushina stood up by herself and sat down on the bed beside Minato. "Hokage-sama?"

"Yes?"

"I love my brother very much, but I'm not saying this because he's my brother, I'm saying it because it's the truth. He didn't throw himself in front of that sword for the sake of Konoha. If he was acting in the best interests of Konoha, he would have stayed hidden in behind that tree. He didn't step in front of that sword because he wanted to die—the Shitagau wouldn't have allowed him to move if that was the case. He stepped in front of that sword for you and only you. Not because you have control over the Shitagau, but because he cares about you."

My throat tightened. "Rest, Kushina, I'll fix things."

She gave me a small smile before lying down.

I left as fast as I could. When I returned to Kichiro's room and found only Biwako sitting beside the comatose Kichiro, I collapsed. Biwako rushed forward.

"Kami, what have I done?" I choked. "It's been eleven years—Kichiro was innocent when he got to Konoha—barely more than a _baby_ —and I made him—"

"He understood—"

"No, he didn't! How could he? He was a _child_ and I abandoned him for no good reason. He was alone, scared so he tried to stop me, he begged me for help but I just beat him, villainized him, tortured him for years. Kushina just told me that he sacrificed himself for me, only me, not for Konoha, not because I´m the Hokage, but for me."

"You couldn't have known—"

"No, you, Kagami, Sakumo, Mito-sama, even Danzō told me that I was mistreating Kichiro, but I refused to listen. This is on me, I did this intentionally, maliciously, and for no reason whatsoever. It would have been kinder to execute him. He was a gift from Kami and look what I did to him!" I shot to my feet and bent over Kichiro's lifeless form. "He's as good as dead, he might never recover, and it's all my fault! He's saved me, this village, everyone, several times over and I reward him with a sword to the chest and next to no hope of returning to the one thing he loves about his life: healing."

"Once he wakes up, he'll be able to help us with his treatment. If he wakes up, he'll almost certainly recover."

I ran my fingers through Kichiro's hair. Patches had been burned off, his skin was still dirty from the battle, and he still had the remains of his shirt around his neck, filthy sweatpants covering the bottom half of his body, and his sandals still on his feet. I gently removed the shoes, then the disgusting clothing.

Biwako set a sponge and bowl of water on the small table beside the bed. I gently washed the grime of battle from Kichiro's body. He didn't even shiver from the chill.

When I finished, I rinsed the sponge and set it beside the bowl.

"Do you have any idea how long until he wakes up?"

"We're hoping he stays like this for at least a week, that way his body is under the least amount of stress possible and the scars can form. After that, he'll be able to move around a little bit without too much danger. If he's comatose for much longer, it will be difficult to judge when we should perform the surgery. There is a shard of the Mizukage's blade sawing through the lining of his stomach so we can't force-feed him until we get rid of that. It's easy to remove, but we just need to wait until he's strong enough for the surgery. Food is the trickiest part. It's too dangerous to force-feed him when he's this deep in a coma. We could accidentally suffocate him or the food could send his body into a fit. We're not willing to risk it until the lack of food will pose a threat."

"When do you think he'll wake up?"

"He could wake up in an hour or he could wake up in a year. It's too soon to make a guess. He's breathing and his heart is beating, so we know his brain is at least partially alive, but beyond that, we just don't know, not yet. Only Kichiro himself can determine whether a patient has a chance of recovery at this stage."

"Hasn't he taught—"

"Kichiro spends almost all his time in the hospital training medics to do what he can, but he focuses on teaching them the things medics can use. Without direct orders from you, only Kichiro would attempt to heal someone with injuries as bad as his are. Medics can work miracles, but his condition is beyond us. No one has ever survived injuries like this and lived."

"Kichiro is the only person capable of healing someone in his condition."

"Like I said, once he wakes up, he can tell us what to do and he will almost certainly recover."

I nodded. "I want to be notified of any and every change, for better or worse. When he wakes up, I want to see him immediately." Biwako wrapped her arms around my waist. "I'm sorry, Hime," I murmured as I turned towards her to envelop her in a hug. "I failed you as much as I failed him. You wanted children and I waited so long—I've neglected so many responsibilities to you, I'm sorry."

"I forgive you, Saru, you did your best and I won't fault you for that."

"I don't deserve forgiveness."

"That just shows you need it more than ever." She stood on her tiptoes and ever so gently pressed her lips against mine. "You're a good man, Saru, a good man when most are not."

I didn't have an answer for her.


	22. Chapter 64b

_Context: The day after Kushina's 18th birthday. Kichiro is 19, Nagato is 13, and Natsuki is 7._

* * *

"Kichiro? Are you here?" Kushina's voice rang through the room, waking me from my doze. I was lying on one of the mattresses in the corner of the room.

My intention had been to finish my most recent mission report, but it was just after dinner. I had been woken shortly after four in the morning to bring a careless ANBU back from the brink of death. His teammates had barely gotten him back to the village in time. I nearly had to call in one of the hospital's medics to help. The two subsequent surgeries I had to perform lasted until shortly after noon. It made me late to meet with the group of brand-new medic recruits. I was only ten minutes late, but it had caused one of the clan-bred kids to scoff and challenge me. I successfully ignored the challenge until two Jōnin appeared in the room with a third being carried between them. Desperate to save their teammate, they had come straight to me instead of checking in at the hospital where they knew the medics there wouldn't be able to save him and would do nothing but make him comfortable before he died.

Very rarely did I have to perform more than one major healing a week in the village, but luckily my chakra reserves were far larger than any other medics'. I could spend all day performing major healings without breaking a sweat. Unfortunately, the injured Jōnin had run afoul a trap seal. Not only did I have to undo the seal, but I had to unravel it while healing the man and making sure the thing didn't blow up in my face. I forgot there was a class full of children watching and immediately got to work. It took almost three hours before I managed to stabilize the man. It wasn't until I leaned back with a sigh that I remembered there were children watching in utter awe. They were too young to be grossed out by the blood and guts of a surgery.

As if on cue, Biwako walked in to collect the children and return to the Academy. She ordered me to her office as soon as I finished cleaning up. I shuffled the injured Jōnin and his teammates off to one of the nurses, left a kage bunshin to clean up the mess, then arrived outside Biwako's office at the same time as her. She roughly shoved me inside then proceeded to inform me of how many regulations I had broken for nearly a half-hour. By the time I had received and promptly decided to ignore her orders to follow hospital protocols, I was several minutes late for dinner at home.

The hospital staff, save Tsunade, had no grounds to try and make me follow protocols. First, I had never neglected my duties in the hospital and it had been nearly two years since I lost a patient. The hospital regulations were in place to protect the medics and doctors in case they failed to save a patient. Second, one of the first things anyone working in the hospital was told was to stick to regulation and never to follow my example when I broke regulation. The next thing they learned, although it wasn't explicitly said, was to always listen to me when I talked about medical stuff or gave orders and to never listen to anything else that came out of my mouth. It was a running joke around the older medics, especially the older medics who learned alongside of me before I became a ninja.

I decided that my mission report, which was already a week late, could wait another day. Whatever Kushina had on her mind sounded important.

"I'm over here," I mumbled and lifted my arm in the air. She picked her way through the mess that was the 'ninja floor' of the house and laid directly on top of my back. "What's up?" I asked and gathered the papers for the mission report I hadn't even started to place them on the floor beside the mattress. After a moment of thought, I untied my medic pouch from my belt to drop it on top of the papers.

Kushina didn't answer for a moment. I thought she fell asleep and very nearly followed her example when she rolled off me without warning. "You don't think I'm stupid, do you?"

I snorted. "If you're stupid, I must have the intelligence of some kind of worm. Why do you ask?" I pushed myself up on my elbow so I could see her better.

She stared at the ceiling before continuing. "You won't laugh at me if I ask a stupid question?"

"When have I ever laughed at you for asking a question?"

She turned her head towards me and raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, when have I ever laughed at you for asking a question that you did not intend to be funny?" I amended.

She sighed and went back to staring at the ceiling.

"Minato is off working on something with Jiraiya and I ran into a group of those girls who've been giving me trouble."

"You're smarter and stronger than those girls, Kushina. They're just jealous."

"They called me a whore. I don't even know what that is!"

I frowned. "Your sensei is Jiraiya." I deadpanned. "He's the most notorious whoremonger in Hi no Kuni."

"That doesn't mean I know what it means. I have betterthings to focus my attention on than figuring out what the names mean," she responded testily.

I sighed and answered her question. "A whore is someone who solicits sex for money."

"Sex?"

"Um, what about it?" I squirmed. I had my suspicions about what direction this conversation was about to turn. I was genuinely surprised that Jiraiya managed to keep himself appropriate in front of Kushina. I suspected Minato was lumped in as well, I just hoped he didn't show up and make the conversation even more awkward.

"What is it?" Her question was genuine. She wasn't teasing me.

"Weren't you supposed to have this conversation with Fusō ages ago?"

"What conversation?"

"You know, the birds and the bees? The talk?"

"What's that?" Someone asked behind me. I was on my feet in an instant. I didn't even hear Natsuki until she spoke.

My heart rate quickly settled. I flopped back down on the bed, then Natsuki fell on top of me. Nagato trudged up the stairs a moment later and sat down by my head.

"Aw, shit," I grumbled.

"What are you all talking about?"

It was weird for Kushina not to know, but she was rather oblivious, so I could sort-of understand a situation where she had no clue about sex, although she had made a few comments in the past that had led me to believe she knew what she was talking about. She must have just been parroting someone else. I knew she was quite attracted to Minato, but I genuinely thought she would have come to talk to me or Fusō a long time ago. I didn't expect Natsuki to know anything; she was only seven after all. The Academy didn't teach any anatomy beyond what it took to kill someone and how to assist medics, unless someone was going into infiltration or assassination. Natsuki wasn't in either program. Unless she had asked someone, I doubted anyone brought it up in conversation. Nagato had never asked me anything about the subject and I saw no need to bring it up since I never noticed him with a crush or in a situation where I would need to explain the subject to him. We were a combat team after all. He was smart, and I thought he had figured it out from the raunchy jokes the other ANBU told. Although, I did notice that they toned it down around the recruits and younger agents. His parents were remarkably talented at making sure their kids never picked up on their very active sex life. If it wasn't for the fact I had unintentionally figured out their (rather obvious) code, I would have been perfectly oblivious as well. I would never think of the word 'rest' the same way again.

"Apparently, the girls want to learn about sex," I told him bluntly.

He frowned for a moment, then shook his head. "What's that?"

I sighed. "I'll explain to Kushina but Natsuki and Nagato, if you're actually curious, go ask one of your parents. If you want more information afterwards, then you can ask me later."

Nagato frowned. "Why won't you explain to all of us?"

"Because Kushina actually needs to know. The two of you are just curious brats."

"Oh, I don't mind if you try to explain to them at the same time," Fusō chuckled from the stairs. She was holding a plate piled with dessert. "I'm sure Kushina would find it more entertaining."

"If you want to tease me, I could send them all to you. You would have far more experience in the topic anyways," I retorted good-naturedly. "Come on in; it's safe. Maybe you would like to help?"

"Come on, Ka-chan!" Natsuki exclaimed and ran over to pull her mother over to sit with us. "Nii-san's lessons are the best!"

She unsuccessfully tried to extricate herself from the situation, but Natsuki guilelessly convinced her to stay. I, very cleverly, in my opinion, passed the subsequent explanation over to her.

* * *

 _Public Service Announcement_ _: If you have questions or concerns on the topic of sex and sexual health, please talk to your doctor or a trusted adult. It is their job/responsibility to provide or connect you with the knowledge to make informed and responsible decisions. Fanfiction and other stories are not a reliable source of information nor do they model healthy relationships and responsible practices._


	23. Chapter 72

_Context: The Sandaime's reasoning on his decisions and actions in chapter 72 and 73, specifically, how he handles Naomi and Kichiro in second person._

 _Author's note: This is my very first attempt to write anything of substance in second person. Personally, I don't like to read anything in second person because it forces me, the reader, to take on traits I don't have and sometimes, completely oppose. I tried to avoid doing the thing I hate, but the problem with second person is that there seems to be no choice. I might try again in the future, but for now, this will remain the extent of my experience in writing second person._

* * *

Two things happen at once. The first, you find out that your enemy turned what you thought was a minor weapon into an attack that was comparable to what your strongest weapon could accomplish. The only problem is that you would _never_ order Kichiro to launch an attack on that scale. Doing so would escalate the war far more than anyone can afford. The Tsuchikage crossed a line with that attack. Before, you had no intention of letting Kichiro leave the village for the rest of the war, no matter what he wanted. You planned to delay his orders as soon as you managed to come up with a convincing reason to revoke them, but now that Iwa launched an attack of that scale, you have no choice but to place Kichiro on the lines to prevent them from trying again. You lost almost a quarter of your army overnight and your mind goes into overdrive as you process the implications.

You've barely dismissed the terrified Chuunin who informed you of the attack when one of your guards appears in front of your desk and tells you about an information breach they've almost finished neutralizing. Your chest seizes in panic. For the first time in this war, you're utterly convinced you will lose. Information breaches can never be truly neutralized because any ninja could memorize profiles in minutes and there is no limit to how far they can spread the information, as well as no way to know who it was shared with. The only thing keeping Konoha from destruction was her advantage in information—her ability to predict attacks. You fear the destruction of your Iwa front and the newly-discovered leak in your information department spell the beginning and the end for Konoha.

You guard says that the situation is delicate, and you barely manage to hold back a derisive snort at the obvious statement. You're lucky you did because when he asks you to interfere, you know something is much more serious than it first appears—if it could get more serious than your village's imminent _destruction_. Even so, you consent to follow your ANBU down to the interrogation rooms.

The moment you lay eyes on the individual in the interrogation chair, you freeze. One of your other guards run into your back and you're so locked in shock and horror that you topple forward. A half century of well-honed instinct and reflexes are the only thing that stops you from breaking your nose on the floor. Several of those present accidentally release barks of shrill, hysterical laughter, but it is silenced before the guilty could be identified. You gather yourself up off the floor and walk towards the little girl chained to the chair. She is either unconscious or too terrified to look up. When you grab her jaw and lift her head towards you, you realize she's unconscious.

"Inari, Amaterasu, and Hachiman spare our lives from the destruction that is about to rain down on our heads," you murmur as you gently allow the girl's head to fall back to her chest.

"F***," someone says behind you.

"Yes, we are well and truly f***ed," you confirm. It was a testament to the gravity of the situation that no one even blinked at your uncharacteristically crass language. You order them to never speak a word about the girl to anyone, not even among themselves and to pretend that it never happened.

Unfortunately, it is now your responsibility to inform the girl's clan head of her actions. You desperately pray again that the unofficial truce between you and Kichiro will hold. Even so, you know that you're likely to become a smudge on the wall by the end of the day. The last time you threatened Kichiro's family, he tried to release the Kyuubi on the village. You still wake up in cold sweat from that nightmare.

This time, it is far worse—this time, Kichiro might just destroy you himself for raising a hand against his family. The treaty between the Uzumaki and Konoha had first been broken a long time ago when you had the Shitagau placed on Kichiro. You had frequently broken it in your dealings with the boy, and occasionally with his sister (you still thank whatever kami is looking out for you that the boy knew nothing of your disagreements with his sibling).

You know your tension with Kichiro is as much his fault as it is yours but your sour dealings with his sister are almost entirely your fault.

In the back of your head, you know that the destruction of the Iwa front and the girl's theft of information cannot be connected because the second operation is far beyond any of your enemies' capabilities. Several possible ways the girl could have breached the security popped into your head and all of them relied on close contact with high-level ninja in the village, which she possessed. You're lucky she was acting entirely alone and had no desire to sell the information.

Only then do you realize three things. First, had you known sooner, you could have stopped the protocol for an information breach from being carried out, but it's too late. The damage to the little girl has already been done. There is no way the girl is still loyal to you. You're lucky if she's still loyal to her clan and hasn't gone completely around the bend. The second thing you realize is that the little girl is the beloved baby sister of the teenager who literally holds your victory and defeat in his hands. The third thing is that you're losing a war. Your underlings are going to get very, very antsy if you show any weakness. They don't understand the delicate position you're in with the kid and they sure as hell won't hesitate to strong-arm the kid into destroying your enemies. To put it crassly, you're completely f***ed. (well, you have one clearshot out of this, but the only person who might be able to mediate between you and the kid to make sure everything turns out okay is currently somewhere in enemy territory with his student, out of reach, taking a mission that you were supposed to take, but decided to hand off because while the kid was on his deathbed, you couldn't bear to tear yourself away on the off chance that the kid might wake up and you'll get the chance to apologize for the way you've treated him in the past.)

It's too late to hide the girl and cover it all up. You know at least one of your underlings knows about her and several others will know within a few hours and there's nothing you can do about it. The girl has to be punished to keep your position in the village. There is no apology you can give, no threat you can issue, no reparation you can make to ensure that the girl keeps her head down, doesn't try again in revenge, and doesn't speak a word about what happened. No matter what, you can't trust her and you don't have the manpower to prevent her from trying again. You can't imprison her. She's the little sister of your impulsive, teenage Jinchuuriki and you know he'll come looking as soon as he finds out. If you're lucky, he won't find out until after the war is over, but you know your luck won't hold out that long. It's not just the kid you have to worry about. It's his entire clan. You don't know exactly how sophisticated their communication is, so you can't leave Kichiro on the lines and attempt to cut communication with him when his clan inevitably finds out what happened. His actual sister is far more dangerous because she has information and she knows how to use it to its fullest capacity. She's also much smarter than the kid, more impulsive, and you haven't had a chance to settle the grudge she has against you for letting her big brother almost die on your watch.

Your preferred course of action would be to kill her and be done with it, but the girl is five years old. As much as you hate it, you agree with what Kichiro has been advocating for taking the young out of the war, to stop executing people for all but the direst offences, to stop trying to always one-up everyone else (even though he always had to win any confrontation against you and wouldn't stop until he did). Now, the effects are starting to worm their way into your conscience. Killing the girl would be killing an innocent. You know she didn't mean to pose such a threat to the village; she had no way of knowing about the circumstances.

You want to just confess everything to Kichiro (unburdening your conscience was such a relief of a weight you didn't know you carried and never want to carry again). You would rather be straight with him now before you personally incur any responsibility for the situation. The kid has matured a lot and you don't think he will blame you for something genuinely outside your control. You'd rather risk him knowing now then incurring responsibility later and knowing that he will certainly hold you accountable. Perhaps he'll be in a good mood and be able to provide a solution that you haven't considered. The more you think about the idea, the more you realize that it's not a particularly wise decision. The kid likes to keep his family close and would throw himself in front of a death blow to protect him. (you squash the tiny, guilty voice that reminds you he's already took a blade to the heart for you and he hasn't done the same for his family. Granted, it could be argued that he submitted himself to becoming a Jinchuuriki and taking a seal that made him a slave in order to save his sister from what might have become a fate worse than death, but you squash that thought too. You can't afford to give your conscience any more power over your decisions.)

The more you think about it, the more you realize that it might work best to let the kid have what he would inevitably demand. The girl needed to be punished for you to keep your political position solid, but you don't have the resources to contain her or enforce her punishment—not without getting the girl's family involved. Doing that would cause political ramifications you can't afford to deal with because then everyone will know what the girl did, and you would have to protect her from misguided fools, which you don't have the resources to do either. If the kid takes responsibility for her, he would have to take her out of the village. In that case, he would be with her at nearly all times. He could not only protect her and carry out an appropriate punishment for her actions, but she would limit him to make sure that he wouldn't completely annihilate Iwa for their crimes, starting a fight Konoha won't be able to finish with the other nations. He wouldn't dare risk her becoming collateral damage. There was always the risk that he found a way to keep her safe if such an event were to occur, but it is the best shot you have. If possible, the girl might be an asset. A disturbing chunk of the infiltration force died during the attempt to locate the Biju the kid defeated a few months ago (had it really been only a few months since Kichiro _died_ for you?) and the kid will almost certainly help in the attempts to gain information. Unfortunately, the kid would be too unreliable in a role such as that. Although it had been years since the kid was a prisoner there, there was no way to predict the effects being so close would have. The worst possible event was that he would remember—no, you can't afford to even let that information cross your mind. If the kid got even a whiff of that information, he would be out of control. It was too late to reassign him.

The kid was undoubtedly needed in the war and it would be foolish to put him anywhere but alongside his sister. She was the only person who could control him and she knew the risks. She was also one of the very few who might be capable of subduing him without an overabundance of collateral damage, mainly because the kid would never fight her.

The girl is smart enough not to be a distraction. The kid shouldn't be fighting anyway, although you know that it's only a matter of time before he picks up those thrice-damned sticks of his and joins the fighting. He could never stand by while others were hurt on his behalf without throwing up a stint about it. During the last war, he was quite the brat about it. During the last war, he was small and weak enough that he could be bodily picked up and carried away. Luckily, he is a strong enough ninja now that you shouldn't have to worry about his wellbeing; perhaps the girl's presence will stop him from taking some of his risks. The longer you think about it the smaller the drawbacks become.

Satisfied with your decided course of action, you know that it is time to notify all relevant parties of the massacre. They arrive alone and in pairs over the course of ten minutes. Most of them chat easily with their peers. They think it is just time to get their formal orders for the upcoming deployment. The kid is the last to walk in. The moment he steps into the room, he's on guard. Your stomach twists and you know that he knows something is very wrong. (the tiny voice hysterically hopes the kid will be too distracted by the news of the massacre, but you know the hope is in vain.)

The kid stays irreverently slouched against the wall furthest from you. Despite the peace you managed to build between you, the kid still doesn't trust you. (the tiny voice insists that you deserve the kid's mistrust. You never gave him any reason to trust you from the beginning. It's too late to change anything now, so you just have to deal with what you have.)

You deliver the news of the massacre without any fanfare or an attempt to ease the strength of the blow. The kid shrinks in on himself until he realizes that his sister and her teammate survived. He does his best to keep his expression neutral after that, but you know he's not listening anymore. You have no idea what is going through his head and you're sure you don't want to know. You leave his answer for last. When you get his attention, his response is remarkably level-headed. You know he's about to walk out and you biggest fear is that he'll take off to fight. While you still have control, you issue your orders then dismiss the rest of the room to handle the shock in their own way. When the others leave, whatever was holding the kid upright started to buckle. He slumps down in one of the chairs and you can't help but wince at his atrocious posture. Even so, for the first time, the kid is willingly showing a little bit of vulnerability to you. (the tiny voice angrily hisses that the kid should never have feared you in the first place.) Regret threatens to suffocate you from the inside because you know you're about to completely destroy what little progress you've managed to make.

You take a deep breath. Since you know the kid is going to storm out the first chance he gets, you make sure to get what will probably be your last update on his condition and what he's been up to. He gives his answers easily, although he is somewhat close-lipped about it. He knows something is wrong, but he's hoping that it has nothing to do with him. You find yourself desperately wishing you had any other news to give him. (the tiny, traitorous voice is begging you to just hide the situation from the kid. You want nothing more than to keep the hesitant peace you've established with him. When he offered the truce and proved himself willing to make an attempt to be something other than enemies, you felt a decade younger. Even as you open your mouth and tell him what happened, watching him stiffen in the chair, his grip splintering the wood, you feel that horrible weight return in triplicate.)

He doesn't say a word and only spares a glance for the girl. He has you caught in his gaze and you can't look away from his bright green eyes.

It takes a long time for him to process the information. You finish as quietly as you can, fearful of shattering the kid's self-control. He's angry—no, he's utterly livid, but you can't be sure what or who he is angry with. You can't help but hope his anger is not directed at you. Even though you didn't have any responsibility for the girl's situation and you stopped it as soon as you knew, you know the kid is just as likely to explode at you. You watch him carefully as he directs his gaze to the floor. You have mistaken the action for submission far too many times. This time, you know he is on the brink of losing control and say nothing. The longer you have to wait and watch, the harder your heart is beating against your ribcage. Every beat is like someone taking a sledgehammer to the inside of your chest ringing a death knell as if it knows how close it is to ending.

You're about to order your guards to incapacitate him before he genuinely loses control.

"Understood," is all he says before he stands up, roughly gathers the girl in his arms, and disappears.

Your guards are just as surprised at the boy's sudden acquiescence and they swoop into the place where the boy was, checking it for traps. There's nothing there.

There is no choice but to set the problem aside. There are more pressing matters to deal with because deep inside, you know you can't do anything further to help the situation with the kid. After issuing standing orders to leave him alone, you focus on repairing the damage from the massacre several days before.

Ch 73

What surprises you is two days later, the kid appears outside your office. From what you can tell, he's not upset. Instead, he's hyper-focused on something. You have no choice but to call him in. He's so focused on whatever is going on in his head that even though he's looking right at you, he's not seeing you. It's an unnerving experience, but it's not the first time the kid has done so.

He wants to change the assignments. Even before he tries to explain why, you have to grudgingly admit that he's right. The girl will only end up dead if she's a part of the general command. You've already decided to make the changes before he suggested them. Of course, you can't just tell him okay. Doing so would make him think he has far more control over you than you're willing to allow. Since you can't refuse him, you ask for the reasoning behind his request. He doesn't come up with anything you haven't already thought of.

The next thing you know, the kid looks ready to tear your head off. The abrupt change in demeanor catches you by surprise and you resign yourself to the same circular arguments he would no doubt provoke.

Pride and frustration rise up before you can stop them and suddenly you find yourself refusing his request just to spite him. Without warning, the kid goes perfectly still and what you just did comes crashing over you and for the very first time, you let your head fall in front of him. It takes longer that you're proud of to force the compromise out of your throat.

You expect him to leave as soon as you give him what he wants, but he stays. You can't help but stare at him. Luckily, you managed to keep you mouth closed—not that the kid even looked at you for almost the entire exchange. For a moment, you can't help but wonder why. Although it unnerved and frustrated you, he always looked you in the eye, even when he wasn't trying to pick a fight.

There is no choice but to wonder why the kid finally decided to stop. You try to make light of his actions, but he just shrugs it off with far more cheek than you like. Disciplining him now would only be counter-productive, so you let it go.

When you bring up his father, you can see the tears glistening in the corners of his eyes. It takes you by surprise and your throat tightens in sympathy. For a moment, you wonder how much he remembers of his father. It had been almost eighteen years since the kid last remembered seeing his father. Even so, the similarities between the two have always been remarkable. You should have recognized him as his father's son the moment you first laid eyes on him. You're ashamed that it took the kid all but telling you his father's identity before you realized it. You're even more ashamed that you never told him anything about his father.

Although you couldn't be sure, you think it could have mended the rift if you had told him after he returned from Iwa. You had wanted to mend your relationship with him. Instead, you decided to wait until he healed and then you waited too long.

You're not surprised when he rebuffs your attempt to share, but you hope it is pride that is making him uncooperative, but before you can do more than introduce the story you want to tell him, he finishes the task you set him and leaves. Perhaps his good will was too much to hope for.

The next time you see him, you can do nothing more than give him orders. The entire time, he is more focused on his fellow ninja than he is on you, but you didn't expect anything else. He leaves and you know that something has changed. You have yet to know whether the change is good or bad, but you let yourself hope its good. The kid hasn't tried to attack you yet and best of all, he understands the position you're in. That's far more than you can rightly expect from him.


End file.
